How Do Saltless Water Softeners Work

A saltless water softener uses potassium in place of sodium.

How do saltless water softeners work.

Water softeners are good at removing calcium and magnesium but they don t do anything to remove other minerals and gases that can cause problems in drinking water. Saltless systems do not remove hardness. The only major difference is that things are a bit more automated for electronic softeners. Water softeners have become more efficient and some use up to 75 percent less salt.

For about the last ten years salt free water softeners have become the dream of many marketing companies. A no salt water softener does not work as far as softening water goes. A more accurate description of units commonly marketed as salt free water softeners would be a salt free water conditioner or scale inhibitor. How do water softeners work.

Water softening involves an ion exchange process which removes both magnesium mg2 and calcium ca2 from water. A water softener by definition is a device that reduces hard water dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium. And manganese causes black staining. Unlike conventional water softeners saltless water conditioners do not remove the calcium from your water but instead treat the calcium and convert it into aragonite which is still calcium and will test just like calcium in a water test.

Ion exchange removes hard water ions in an exchange for sodium ions. It is this removal of magnesium and calcium that defines water softening. Cool but do electronic water softeners actually work. Learn how real water softeners work.

A more accurate way to describe them would be descalers since they do reduce buildup in many but not all types of plumbing equipment. Salt based water softeners use an electronic metered valve mounted atop a fiberglass resin tank that meter water by the gallon and then run a cleaning cycle when the ion resin. The term water softener represents a technology called ion exchange. During the ion exchange process a polymer resin bed attracts hard water minerals and replaces them with sodium ions.

With a water softener you also don t need to use as much soap for dishes laundry or bathing as you do if you have hard water. So here s the scoop. In many cases we are led to believe both work the same and the only difference is that one doesn t use salt. For example ferrous iron is a common mineral and it creates nasty rust stains in sinks tubs and toilets.

Well you ll be happy to know that the answer is a big yes. So there s the big question you ve been pondering. This really isn t the truth. The ion exchange process used by water softeners doesn t work without the sodium ions displacing the calcium and magnesium ions that create water hardness.

After all the ion exchange process still occurs in an electronic softener. A salt free water softener does not exist.