Water softeners have a number of important applications and benefits

Drinking water contains a number of minerals that are both beneficial and essential to our overall health and well-being. This article discusses what happens when water contains an excessive amount of calcium and magnesium in this situation. When a large quantity of dissolved minerals is present in the water, they accumulate in the pipes and other appliances through which the water runs, causing corrosion.

It has been demonstrated that this causes clogging of pipes and makes the dissolution of soap and detergent in water more difficult. In order to safeguard your home's plumbing by removing ions that cause it to be hard, water softener is a method that reduces the amount of calcium and magnesium in the water. It does this by reducing the amount of calcium and magnesium in the water.

Hard water is defined as water that contains a specific amount of calcium and magnesium; this quality of water is referred to as water hardness. Hard water is a type of water that has a high concentration of calcium and magnesium.

Water softeners that use salt versus those that do not use salt

To remove ions such as calcium and magnesium from two separate tanks: the resin tank and the brine tank, traditional softeners use an ion-exchange system. As water passes over a bed of resin beads containing sodium ions, calcium and magnesium ions are drawn to them and become entangled with them.

When there is no longer any room for new calcium and magnesium ions, the mechanism comes to a temporary halt, and the brine tank releases salt water to flush the resin tank. Although salt is included in the water generated by ordinary softeners, the water should theoretically have no calcium or magnesium.

Water softeners that do not rely on salt (sodium) to remove calcium and magnesium from water are known as salt-free softeners since they do not use sodium to do so. The most successful and widely used salt-free water softener is a potassium chloride water softener, which means that instead of utilizing salt (sodium) to soften water, potassium chloride is used instead, which has been found to be reasonably healthy even in large amounts of potassium chloride (KCl).

For the purpose of quantifying the degree of difficulty, the following scale was developed by the United States government:

Depending on the softness of the water, calcium carbonate concentrations range from 0 to 60 mg/L.

When the water is moderately alkaline, calcium carbonate concentrations range from 61 to 120 mg/L.

The amounts of calcium carbonate in hard water range from 121 to 180 mg/L.

Very Hard contains at least 181 mg of calcium carbonate per liter of water.

The Advantages of Salt-Free Alternatives

When drinking water that contains more salt than is customary, people who have underlying health conditions, such as high blood pressure, or who require a restricted level of salt consumption may have negative effects from it. People suffering from these conditions must find other sources of drinking water or softening procedures that do not involve the use of salt.

The cost of maintaining a salt-free water softener, according to some estimates, is more than the cost of maintaining a traditional water softener, with potassium pellets (beads) costing twice as much as salt pellets.

For additional information about salt-free water softeners, as well as a more in-depth water softener comparison so that you can make the best selection.