Water Softener

Salt-Free Water Softeners Fix Hard Water Issues without the Expense, Waste, and Environmental Impact!

Salt-Free Water Softeners Fix Hard Water Issues without the Expense, Waste, and Environmental Impact!

Article by Rebecca Paul

If you’re concerned about hard water in your home but aren’t sure the drawbacks of water softener installation are worth it, you need to consider putting in a salt-free water softener. These systems effectively treat hard water without the expense, waste, or environmental cost of ion exchange water softeners!

Hard water can be a serious issue for your plumbing and water-related appliances, but installing a water softener can also have some major drawbacks. If you’re looking for a way to stop hard water problems without the negatives of an ion exchange water softener, you need to consider the latest technology: salt-free water softeners. These systems can prevent hard water from damaging your pipes and appliances without the waste, expense, or environmental issues created by other water softening methods! Your water treatment service should be able to install this great new technology for your home or business.

Traditional water softeners replace the calcium and magnesium ions in hard water with sodium ions, creating salty wastewater and using a comparatively large amount of energy. Did you know that these water softeners:

Waste water? Did you realize that traditional systems waste at least 200 to 240 gallons each week? That adds up to 12,500 gallons of water wasted every year. Just to put that number in perspective, remember that many people in the developing world use less than three gallons of water per day… So the water wasted by one ion water softener is enough to supply 13 people with water for an entire year!

Create high sodium levels in wastewater? Traditional water softeners use salt to remove the calcium and magnesium in hard water through a process of ion exchange. But they also create salt water waste as a by-product. This salt water goes down the drain and into the water supply, where it will inevitably have to be removed to make the water drinkable again. In short, traditional ion water softeners not only waste water–they also add sodium contamination!

But with a no-salt water softener system, hard water problems can be eliminated without either of these drawbacks. Instead of relying on sodium to eliminate the calcium and magnesium, these innovative water treatment systems accelerate the transformation of the dissolved minerals into nanoparticles. The tiny crystals of calcium and magnesium pass harmlessly through your plumbing and appliances with no scaling and no damage. Saltless water softeners:

Use no electricityNeed no special drainProvide “soft” water at very low costAnd can be installed in areas with restrictions on salt systems

If you’re in the market for a better water softener, contact your water treatment company today. These professionals can help set you up with the right no-salt water softener and water filtration systems for your specific needs. You don’t have to choose between hard water and the disadvantages of an ion exchange system: get a salt-free water softener and get the best of both worlds!

About the Author

Rebecca Paul is a home improvement hobbyist and an Internet marketer for Prospect Genius, specializing in online local advertising for small businesses.

3 Critical Things to Consider Before Buying a Water Softener

3 Critical Things to Consider Before Buying a Water Softener

When considering which water softener to purchase there are some important factors to consider including some significant health issues. This is because water softeners actually use sodium to alter the water. As we all know, sodium is a major cause of increased blood pressure and other serious health problems.

Sodium is an essential mineral because it’s necessary for fluid and electrolyte balance in your body. However, consuming too much salt (also known as sodium chloride) may lead to high blood pressure, a condition called hypertension.

How Do Water Softeners Work:

Water softeners or whole house water treatment systems use a process called ion exchange to remove minerals from a water supply before it enters the home. This involves passing the water through a tank filled with resin beads that are coated with ions of either sodium or potassium chloride.

In simple terms, the sodium or potassium ions in the water softener swap places with the calcium or magnesium ions (which are the hard minerals that cause hard water stains and limescale) in a domestic water supply.

What To Consider Before Purchase:

• Firstly, sodium chloride is usually less expensive than potassium chloride although the latter is better for the environment. This is because the system has to have the brine solution discharged to recharge the ions on the resin beads.

• If the potassium solution is discharged it has less impact on the environment and can actually be put on lawns as potassium is a key plant nutrient!

• Contrary to a common misconception, using sodium salt in your water softener will not adversely affect your plumbing. Most modern plumbing is made of PVC plastic and is not affected by increased levels of either sodium or potassium chloride. Sodium salt can, however, reduce the amount of maintenance required for your brine tank.

• For those concerned about the health issues of how much sodium is put into the water by a water softener, the answer is, it all depends. The harder your water supply the more sodium ions are needed to soften it. That said, studies indicate that even water softened with sodium chloride has a low concentration of sodium.

• The costs of water softeners are usually far outweighed by the benefits and cost savings obtained, through using softened water.

Your local health department can tell you the sodium and other mineral content of your community’s water supply.

Options if Your Tap Water is High in Sodium:

• Consider switching to another type of water-purification system.

• Buy demineralized water for drinking and cooking.

• Softening only the hot water and using unsoftened cold water for drinking and cooking.

Ultimately the choice between sodium or potassium salts in your water softener is a personal one, depending on the presence of potential health issues with your water supply, cost, and environmental priorities.

Whichever one you decide on, the advantages of a water softener far outweigh the disadvantages. As well as all the above they can also be helpful in reducing cleaning time by preventing hard water stains and limescale forming around the home.

What Exactly Are Water Softeners?

What Exactly Are Water Softeners?

Water softeners transform hard water into the so-called soft water. Reducing its mineral contents does the transformation. Hard water mainly contains calcium and magnesium metal, and sometimes bicarbonates and sulfates. Soft water, on the other hand, is the type of water with none or little content of the mentioned minerals.

A water softener is used in decreasing the calcium, magnesium, and in some cases manganese and ferrous iron dissolved in hard water. The fact is water softener is a system for transforming chemically hard water into a soft water.

Softeners replace the calcium and magnesium contents in hard water by sodium. Sodium does not accumulate in pipes and also does not react to soap. This means hard water effects are eliminated.

The principle behind water softeners is easy to understand. Hard water is allowed to enter the water softener. The water softener contains a layer of plastic beads and in some instances, the material used is called Zeolite. The layer of materials inside the water softener is soaked with sodium ions. Sodium is exchanged with the contents of the hard water, calcium, and magnesium. When water comes out of the softener, the water is said to be of the soft water type.

At a point in time, the plastic beads or Zeolite layer will be saturated with calcium and magnesium ions only. Regeneration process follows wherein water is mixed with high sodium content producing strong brine. Sodium ions again replace calcium and magnesium ions, which eventually are washed down the drain.

The ordinary cooking salt is cheap. The salt or sodium chloride is the source of sodium for water softeners. Large quantity of salt costs little. It is a good source for sodium used in water softener.

Utilized in a water softener system are a number of cylindrical tanks and large square containers. The tanks are used as storage of already treated water and the container is for the salt used in the process. The number of tanks depends on the output and the system itself.

When water softeners are installed for domestic or household purpose, the water softener system is situated at the main entrance of the house plumbing system. In this manner of installation, all the water entering the house is already treated.

There are two main types of water softener systems. One is the electric single tank softener. This type, besides being costly, is a system with some setbacks. Soft water supply may run out since the system uses a single tank. It also may cause inconvenience because this type needs high pressure. Night hours bring high pressure. Noise caused by running motors is not welcome at these hours.

The hydraulic twin tank softener is the other softener type. This type ensures a continued supply of soft water for the household. The two tanks do the softening and regeneration processes alternatively. This way, there will be no chance of running out of soft water supply.

Salt containers should be refilled regularly. Most water softeners do not have salt level indicator; it is a wise decision to check salt level periodically to avoid contamination of water tanks. The water softeners operate continuously even without salt, which may result in tank contamination.

Salt-based water softeners are not effective one hundred per cent. Only 75 per cent of the calcium and magnesium water content is removed. The salt-based softener also releases to the environment huge amount of lime brine.

A newly developed water softener system is digital. The Soo~Soft Digital Electronic Water Softening System is a revolutionary innovation in water softening procedures. It is environmentally friendly and as effective as a salt-type water softener.