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.
Patrick Henry BEng (Hons), is a recognised industry expert in removing hard water stains. With an honours degree in Chemical Engineering, he teaches people how to remove stubborn hard water stains and limescale using a step by step guide. He is author of the ebook “Hard Water Stain Removal Secrets Revealed”.
Categories: Water Softener Tags: Before, Buying, Consider, Critical, Softener, Softeners, Things, Water
Say good bye to hard water with the saltless water softener
Say good bye to hard water with the saltless water softener
Article by Joan Baino
Hard water causes a lot of trouble in the household. You might discover glass stains, clogged pipes and a yearly replacement of your dishwasher or washing machine which is of course annoying in every perspective. This trend is usually caused by hard water which carries unwanted deposits making your water dangerous for use and human consumption. There are solutions to this issue and that is to use a water softener. As literal as it may seem, these devices make water soft, or in other words safer. There are two types of water softeners. One is the salt based which is the most common one to date and there is another one which is the saltless water softener which is gaining popularity as well.
Many people are using water softeners today especially in areas where hard water is prominent. The surfacing of saltless water softeners brought about apprehensions because this is a new form of softener out in the market. People tend to be a little skeptical about this even if there are already plenty of saltless water softeners online and offline. Water softeners using salt will have a long term adverse effect to humans and the environment. We drink water everyday, we cook with water and we clean ourselves with water. Even when it has been softened already but woth the presence of salt, it may harm us instead of keeping us safe. Too much salt in the body is bad for our health. Too much salt deposits in soils disposed by households through dirty softened water will kill the soils making it impossible for vegetation to grow. The advers effects of salt are fierce.
Saltless water softeners do away with salt and use potassium chlorine which is safe for human intake and for the environment as well. There are plenty of brands for saltless water softeners in the market today but one brand stands out among the rest which is the kinetico water softener. This brand is a must have for those of you who still do not own a water softener.
The effects of hard water will be constant if ignored. Buying water softeners will reduce the problem dramatically. Choosing the right water softener is a must to produce a long term effect.
Water Softeners Are Necessary For Health Today
Water Softeners Are Necessary For Health Today
Article by Tai Pham
When is water considered hard? and when is it considered soft? Technically when water possesses too much concentration of calcium and magnesium it is called hard water. If and when calcium and magnesium dissolves the degree of the water’s hardness increases. Hard water needs to be softened as they clog pipes and dissolves soap less easily. To treat hard water it goes through a process called water softening where in water would pass through a bed of resin wherein an exchange of positively and negatively charged ions occurs. The process of water softening is facilitated through the use of water softener, a unit designed to remove the chemicals that make the water hard.
Water softeners are classified into five categories: manual; semi-automatic; automatic; demand initiated regeneration (DIR); and off-site regeneration. Manual Water Softeners has its own set of variations but all of them need the operator to open and close the valves to control, rate and time length of back flushing and to control the frequency. Semi-automatic water softeners would only require the operator to push the button and the machine will control and complete the recharging process. Automatic softener are the most common softeners being used, the unit is equipped with a timer that initiates the recharging and all the steps in the process. All the operator has to do is add salt and set the timer. Demand initiated regeneration functions and automatically responds to the demand for soft water. It has two softening tanks and one brine tank, when one is softening the other tank is recharging.
Like every other technology, the use of water softeners does have its own advantages and disadvantages. Let us begin with the advantages; the use of softeners prolong the life span of appliances including washing machine, dishwasher and water heater; using softened water in washing clothes results in a softer feeling clothes; using water softeners results in the reduction of water spotting. However the use of softened water in watering house plants, gardens and lawns is not advisable because softened water has strong sodium content; there could be possible health risks from the intake of sodium laden water; and it is not recommended for use in evaporative coolers and steam irons.
What most people would like to know is how long these water softeners would last, given the amount the buyer would spend; the unit has to be of top quality. With proper care and maintenance water softeners could very well last for a couple of years.
About the Author
Isopure Water specializes in reverse osmosis and other drinking water filtration equipment since 2005. We also have an expertise in specialty media filtration when dealing with harsh water conditions such as water hardness, high iron or hydrogen sulfide levels, and aquarium water purification.