Here at the Pure Water People, we’ve been installing top quality water treatment solutions for more than 30 years, which means we have advised thousands of people on water softening, filtration and purification.
There are a lot of different water softener models available on the market, so when you first dip your toe into the water (pun intended) of home softening and filtration, it can be a bit overwhelming. Water is vital to life, and you use it every day, so making the best choice when protecting your home and family from the effects of hard water is important; which means that is also important that you are given the best advice to help you in making that choice.
We always make sure to provide a free-of-charge, no obligation, survey – this is the best way to understand your options and to make sure that if you’re going to have us install a water softener, it’s the right one for you and your home. We also appreciate that you probably have some excellent questions for us, so to get you started, we’ve answered a few FAQs in this entry in ‘Paws for Thought’!
I live in a very hard water area – how much will a water reduce limescale build up in my home?
We have to admit, when we install a water softener into your home, it won’t reduce your scale build up. It will do much more – it will completely prevent and eliminate build up throughout your home!
How does a water softener work?
Hard water and limescale build up is caused by the presence of dissolved Calcium and Magnesium minerals in the water. In order to fully soften the water, our softeners use something called an ‘ion exchange resin’. Inside the softener, a tank is filled with ion-exchange resin beads, which are pre-loaded with Sodium Ions.
As the hard water enters the system and passes through the resin, the resin attracts and captures the calcium and magnesium ions – in exchange it releases sodium ions into the water.
This exchange is was gives you intrinsically soft water. The calcium and magnesium has now been removed, your water is soft and will not cause any scale build up!
When the resin tank is full to capacity, it then undergoes a process called Regeneration.
You may have noticed that softeners require salt (in the form of blocks, or tablets, depending on the model). During regeneration, this salt is flushed through the resin as a brine solution – the high concentration of sodium ions forces the calcium and magnesium off the beads and recharges the resin beads with a sodium ion. The resin is now recharged and ready to soften again. The waste, including the hardness minerals, is flushed to the drain.
Can I drink softened water?
It is quite common to assume that the salt used in water softeners precludes the option of drinking it – we can see why people connect those dots; you wouldn’t drink salty water, after all. BUT, the distinction here is – it's not salty water.
As discussed earlier, the softener doesn’t use salt to soften or add it to water during the regeneration process. The salt is flushed through the resin tank as a brine solution, and the hardness minerals are swapped out for sodium ions (what is flushed from the resin tank, then exits through the drainage pipe). This means that your water isn’t salty, by virtue of being softened, there is just a very small amount of sodium present (in the form of sodium ions).
For most, this is absolutely fine to drink, less than what you would find in a glass of milk or slice of bread. However, there are a couple of instances where one might want to avoid drinking softener water. For people on low-sodium diets, or for infants, we would recommend using an unsoftened tap. We are able to bypass your kitchen tap if required, and for drinking water we provide a range of fantastic filtration options.
This means anyway can enjoy the benefits of soft water AND experience great tasting, healthy, pure water for drinking and cooking.
What about softeners that don’t use salt?
There are water softening options on the market that utilise an electromagnetic coil, and to many it sounds like an attractive prospect – low maintenance, no consumables. It’s always important to bear in mind, that not all water treatment products are made equal, and there’s a reason we use the resin and salt approach.
Whereas the ion-exchange resin will completely soften the water, magnetic-coil based descalers work differently.
They use a magnetic or electromagnetic field placed around the pipe to influence the behaviour of dissolved minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium.
As hard water passes through the field, the device is claimed to encourage these minerals to form micro-crystals that remain suspended in the water, rather than attaching to surfaces as hard limescale.
So, they do have an effect on the water – but instead of reducing hardness levels, they altyer how scale is formed.
We only install softeners that are high quality and efficient with salt usage – the relatively low cost of replacement salt is more than outweighed by the many money-saving benefits of softening your water!
How do I know which is the right softener for me?
Our range of softeners vary in size and functionality – some are big, some are small, some are entirely mechanical, some have electronic features. They all achieve perfectly soft water, but factors such as the size of your home, the number of people who live there and regularly use the water and your preferences all need to be taken into account when it comes to recommending the best softener for your home.
For the best advice on your water treatment options, book your free, no obligation survey with one of our experts today!
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