Whole house water softener – why do you need it?
A whole house water softener can make a big change in the quality of living.
A large number of households use hard water. Hard water is one of the most common water quality problems.
From destroying installations, water heater, all devices connected to water, and increased costs to sensitive and damaged skin and hair, hard water causes a lot of limescale problems in your everyday life.
Table of Contents
What kind of problems hard water makes?
Hard water is water with a rich salt content, especially calcium and magnesium. Such water, rich in salts, has very bad effects on the whole household. Scale deposits that occur due to the deposition of Calcium and Magnesium can cause major problems. Limescale is deposited in pipes, boilers, water tanks, in water heater, washing machines and dishes, faucets, shower cabins, and bathtubs. All things in contact with hard water have reduced service life and increased operating costs.
What is the solution to hard water problems?
The solution to all problems related to limescale is water softening which is done by whole house water softeners.
Water softening is the process of replacing Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg) ions from water hardness salts with sodium (Na) ions. It is carried out with devices called water softeners. Water softeners are filled with special ion exchange resins that perform this ion exchange. Calcium and Magnesium ions from water bind to the ion exchange resin and an equivalent amount of Sodium ions is released from the resin.
Of course, this replacement cannot last indefinitely and is limited by the amount of sodium ions in the ion exchange resin. So, softening converts Calcium and Magnesium salts into an equivalent amount of Sodium salts.
The resulting Sodium salts are extremely soluble in water and do not form scale. Sodium bicarbonate, which is formed from carbonate hardness, is a well-known baking soda. It is important to note that the equivalent amount of salt remains the same as before, but these salts after softening are in the form of Sodium and do not form scale.
For this process the usage of only high quality salt is og a big importance.
Water Hardness Test Kit – Fast and Accurate Cost Effective Water Hardness Test Strips
Save time and get accurate water test results within seconds. Simply take one of the provided test strips and dip the test strip into the water. Compare the test strip colors with the large color chart on the bottle. This is your water hardness result.
No need to visit a store or wait for someone else to test the quality of your water.
Enjoy consistently accurate and reliable results whenever you need them.
Ideal for you water softener operation control.
Advantages of softened water
Some of the advantages a whole house water softener and soft water:
– first of all, there is no limescale creation
– glassware washed with soft water is crystal clear
– clothes washed with soft water are much softer because there is no crystallization of limescale on its fine fibers
– the consumption of washing agents is significantly reduced
What kind of whole house water softeners are there on the market?
There is a big choice of whole house water softeners on the market. Starting with salt based water softeners or salt free water softeners? Electric water softeners or magnetic water softeners? Single tank softener or dual tank water softener? What capacity? What flow?
There are many questions about water softeners that can be overwhelming.
The right choice of a whole house water softener can be complicated if you are not familiar with the matter. A good water softener will serve you for many years and your only job will be to add water softener salt to the brine tank for regeneration. Most important, it will guard all your appliances and your complete home from hard water effects.
Salt based whole house water softener
This is the most common water softener. Water softener salt is used for the regeneration of the ion exchange resin.
Single tank whole house water softener
Single tank water softener is mostly used as a home water softener system. It has a single tank that if filled with ion exchange resin. According to the amount of resin and the water hardness, it has an exact operating capacity. The operating capacity is the amount of water a softener can “soften” before exhausting its capacity.
A single tank softener has an internal bypass in the automatic valve and it lets through hard water while it is regenerating. So, during regeneration, you use hard water. That is why the regeneration is mostly done at night hours, while there is minimal consumption.
Dual tank water softener
The main purpose of dual tank softeners is to produce soft water 24 h/day, without interruption during regeneration. A dual tank water softener is in fact two softeners connected and working alternatively. While one is regenerating the other produces soft water.
Dual tank softeners are mainly focused for industrial use.
Salt free whole house water softener
Polyphosphates
Instead of removing hardness salts from the water, this process conditions the water so that limescale cannot build up on plumbing or faucets. This type of system is mainly used in restaurants and other commercial environments to protect equipment against scaling.
Electromagnetic and Magnetic
Similar to other salt-free water softeners, electromagnetic softeners do not remove the particles that cause hard water but rather condition them. They soften water by magnetizing particles, preventing them from adhering to surfaces and causing scale build-up. These systems plug into a standard outlet and don’t need to be connected to the piping, making them an attractive, low-maintenance option for water softening. Magnetic models perform the same task but require no electricity and require little or no maintenance. However, they are not as powerful and are only suitable for smaller homes.
Full Filtration
The full filtration system not only softens the water but also removes other impurities in the drinking water. This salt-free water softener works by passing water through a filter to crystallize the minerals, preventing them from sticking together and creating deposits that can damage pipes and equipment. They also remove other contaminants including herbicides, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, and chlorine. Filters for these water softeners can be expensive.
FAQs
Here are some of the frequently asked questions and answers about whole house water softeners.
What does a whole house water softener do?
Water softeners help to remove calcium and magnesium salts from your water supply. The ion exchange resin inside the softener converts the calcium and magnesium into sodium, making your water free of all hard water problems.
Is it safe to drink water from a whole house water softener?
Water softeners are designed only to soften water. Although they can also remove smaller amounts of iron, that is not their job. If the water to be softened has a drinking water quality, then it is absolutely safe to drink water from a softener.
When do you need to clean a water softener?
When the brine tank gets dirty from salt or at least once a year, the tank should be cleaned. If the water is microbiologically not 100% sure, a disinfection should be carried out also.
How long do water softeners last?
The average water softener lasts for 10-15 years. Ion exchange resin lifetime can depend on the incoming water quality, but with proper maintenance and care, your water softener will last really long.
The main danger for a water softener is high iron content. Over time iron deposits can clog the resin and lower it’s efficiency.
Whole House Water Softener with Pre/Post Filters
Automatic whole house water softener
- 20” sediment cartridge that removes sediment, silt, sand, and dirt
- Ion exchange water softener, 48,000-grain capacity, service flow: 9-11 GPM
- 20” solid carbon cartridge for removing volatile organic carbon compounds (VOCs), insecticides, pesticides and industrial solvents
Crystal Quest has been in the water filtration industry for over 30 years. The company manufactures water filtration and softeners products to a worldwide market for residential, industrial, or commercial use.
The company makes reverse osmosis solutions, water conditioning, water treatment, industrial water filters that can be used in beauty salons, apartments, clubs, government complexes, etc.
Who am I?
I am working as a water treatment technical manager and I have more than 25 years of practical experience in water purification.
Water purification expert
After many years of experience in water purification, I want to share some of my knowledge and get people to know the real importance of water quality.
Water purification and water treatment are very complex themes, so it is important to explain them in an easy-to-read way.
On this blog, you will find many understandable, easy-to-read information about water purification.
I hope you enjoy it, find some useful information, and thank You for reading.
More info on my work and my expertise on water purification can be found on my LinkedIn profile.
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