How do salt softeners work?

What is hard water?

What is hard water and how do salt softeners work? First, let’s discuss what hard water is. The general definition of hard water is water that has minerals in it, primarily significant amounts of calcium and magnesium. The level of hardness for water is measured in parts per million. What this measurement breaks down to is how many parts in every million parts is minerals. So if the reading is 750 for example there are just that, 750 parts of mineral per million parts measured.

Is Hard Water Bad?

Hard water isn’t good or bad, it’s often measured by the personal preference of the person using the water. Ask one person if water with high mineral content is good or bad. You will often get two different answers. Mineral content and parts per million can have pros and cons. Many would argue that water full of minerals is healthy for the body. Others may argue that water full of minerals such as calcium and magnesium can be bad for your plumbing. But how do salt softeners work and remove hard water?

How do Salt Softeners Soften Water?

How do salt softeners work? Salt based water softeners soften water by performing an ion exchange. What is that? It basically comes down to exchanging the calcium and magnesium found in your tap water with sodium. Replacing minerals the mineral count in your water with sodium is how salt softeners soften water.

How does a salt softener exchange salt for sodium?

Your water softener system consist of 2 tanks. The first tank is the resin tank. This tank is packed with resin beads that the water will pass through. The second tank is the brine tank.The brine tank is where you put the salt. The brine tank will always have some water in it allowing the salt to break down and dissolve into a super concentrated brine. The resin beads are charged with sodium ions. When water passes through the resin tank the sodium ions create what is known as an electrochemical reaction that allow the calcium and magnesium ions to switch places with the sodium ions attached to the resin beads completing the“ion exchange”the sodium ions are then carried out into your water lines. The brine is then pumped into the resin tank the during regeneration cycle, where the calcium and magnesium that has been removed is sent down the drain and sodium ions in the brine adhere to the resin again re-charging the resin again.

But wait there is more

The chemical composition for Sodium Chloride ( your basic salt) is NaCI. Well the CI stands for chloride. When the salt breaks down and dissolves into the brine it has now broken down into 2 parts. Sodium ions and chloride ions. The chloride ions also passthrough the resin tank and cause havoc on many metal components. One for example is the anode rod in your water heater. The chloride ions will prematurely eat away the anode rod and then move on to that steel tank.

Are Salt Softeners Beneficial?

Salt softeners can be beneficial to your home’s plumbing system, but they are often not the perfect solution. Arguments can be made that salt softeners can also be detrimental to your plumbing system and can often be something that clients with medical conditions need to avoid. The added sodium, while in moderation, for sensitive consumers can be a risk factor due to the absorption of sodium through your skin during bathing. Setting the salinity level on a softener and making sure it is perfect and safe to consume can be daunting for some clients. The salinity in salt softened water can also shorten the lifespan of metal components in your plumbing system, like the inside of your water heater.

It’s a well-known fact, even for those hardcore salt softener ambassadors, that salt systems drastically reduce the life span of your water heater and potentially other metal components that the water touches. If you love that slick feeling that salt softeners provide though–there is nothing else on the market that provides that feeling, simply because that is the removal of minerals replaced with sodium. If you’re going to choose a salt softener to soften your water, we highly recommend that you have the system calibrated and checked regularly to make sure the water is as healthy as possible and has as little corrosive properties as possible.

Services in Phoenix & Beyond

When you find yourself in need of water treatment system repair and replacement services in the Phoenix metropolitan area, call a Robin! Whether your inquiring about a salt softener or a citrus based water treatment system, you can trust Robins Plumbing to provide you with a higher level of service! In addition to our plumbing services, we also offer a variety of residential and commercial plumbing services. Contact us if you need help with drain cleaning, water heater repair and replacement, sewer camera inspection and locating, backflow prevention, commercial and residential jetting, water treatments, and more. Visit our reviews online to see what others have to say about our local plumbing company!