Ever wondered how water softener works? Mineral laden hard water goes in, but soft, clean feeling water with no aftertaste comes out.
So how do water softeners work and help us avoid spotted dishes, appliances and clogged water heaters?
Most water softeners use a process called ion exchange to remove minerals dissolved in hard water, producing cleaner water without any aftertaste.
Some of the minerals that can be a problem in water are calcium, iron, sulfur, and magnesium. Your water softener contains many small plastic beads, or a matrix referred to as zeolite. These are covered in ions of sodium.
When
the water flows through the beads or zeolite, the unwanted minerals
swap places with the sodium. This leaves more sodium in the water, but
removes other minerals.
Eventually, the zeolite or beads have no
more sodium ions, and must be regenerated. Regeneration is an important
part of how water softeners work.
This involves soaking the beads
of zeolite in a sodium ion containing solution. One very common
solution used is common household salt – a strong brine is made to
regenerate the softener.
Once the beads or zeolite are
regenerated, the remaining brine and the residue of the minerals can be
flushed away. A single water softener can produce a lot of brine when it
needs to recharge!
However, this method means that water
softeners put extra salt into the water they produce. For people on low
sodium diets, this can present a problem. Sometimes, alternate salts,
like potassium chloride, are used to prevent this problem.
Anyone
who needs to limit their sodium and wishes to use a water softener
should talk to their doctor about the additional minerals, sodium or
potassium, that they may be consuming.
A few water softeners
don't use salts at all, but instead function by using charcoal filters
or some other method to remove the undesirable minerals from our hard
water.
These are usually a lot more expensive than conventional models.
Once your water softener has regenerated, it's ready to
get to work again. Some systems automatically regenerate, and only need
to be refilled with salt.
Other systems, like portable water
softeners, will function until they become depleted, then stop working
until manually regenerated. No matter which method your water softener
uses, it's important to maintain it properly so that it will provide
years of effective service.
With all the good that water
softeners do for us, it's no wonder we're sometimes moved to wonder,
"How does a water softener work?"
Hopefully, this article has
given you a better idea of how this useful, helpful device changes
unpleasant hard water into soft water that's better for us, our
appliances, our clothes and our plumbing.
Best
Water Softener Reviews
Find out the best softener system for you and your family.
Calgon
Water Softener Powder
Calgon is a different way to soften water. You use at when you add
clothes to your washing machine.
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