Water Solutions:
Almost all of the water found in the United States is hard water. Hard water that is contaminated with dissolved calcium and magnesium that can have a negative impact on you, your household and your pocketbook.
Most water contains more than water. Almost all of the water found in the United States is hard water. Hard water that is contaminated with dissolved calcium and magnesium that can have a negative impact on you, your household and your pocketbook.
The idea behind a water softener is simple. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium ions. Since sodium does not precipitate out in pipes or react badly with soap, both of the problems of hard water are eliminated. To do the ion replacement, the water for the house runs through a bed of small plastic beads (resin). The resin is covered with sodium ions. As the water flows past the sodium ions, they swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions. Eventually, the resin contains nothing but calcium and magnesium ions and no sodium, and at this point they stop softening the water. It is then time to regenerate the resin.
Regeneration involves soaking the resin in a stream of sodium ions. Salt is sodium chloride, so the water softener mixes up a very strong brine solution and flushes it through the resin (this is why you load up a water softener with salt). The strong brine displaces all of the calcium and magnesium that has built up in the resin and replaces it again with sodium. The remaining brine plus all of the calcium and magnesium is flushed out through a drain pipe.
You may hear that a water softener is a “one stop shop” and can remove everything from your water. Unfortunately, this is not true. A water softener is designed to remove calcium and magnesium that have a positive charge. The hardness minerals are easily removed by the softener.
A water softener can and does remove iron. Iron is a mineral that is dissolved by water. If the PH of your water is on the acidic side, the iron will most likely be ferrous. Because this mineral is in solution and is a cation (positively charged) it can be exchanged out by a water softener. Using a salt with an additive to help clean the resin such as “iron out salt” is recommended and helps keep the resin clean. Regenerating the softener more frequently to help compensate for iron helps too.
The issue though is when we come across Ferric iron. Also called oxidized iron or red water iron.
Ferric iron cannot be exchanged by a water softener. It must be physically trapped in a filter. When we come across a softener only set up on water with ferric iron, the customer usually says, “well I had pretty good water for a few months then started seeing lots of discolored water coming in to the house”. The softener resin will “iron foul” within a few months. Also the iron will cause premature wear of the softener valve.
Bottom line is we need to identify what type of iron you have to see if a softener only could work.
Please refer to the iron filtration systems link for more info
It’s true all softeners, regardless of make or model or if you buy it at a hardware store or through a professional, operate the same. It draws liquid brine to regenerate the resin beads. However, there are some major differences from a store bought to a commercial softener. First off we have all heard the old saying, “you get what you pay for”. This is so true in buying all sorts of things, but especially true when purchasing a softener. The store-bought softeners are reasonably priced, costing anywhere from $400-700. If you can install it yourself, you can really come out ahead. Unfortunately, there is a reason they are that cheap. Typically, the resin is the lowest grade that is made and the operating valve is built from cheap plastic and is not designed to last for many years. They are very difficult to repair and that’s not a coincidence. The stores want you to swap them out as the unit goes bad and that’s how they make their money. Also, a little known secret is that the resin is packed and does not expand when being backwashed. Packed resin = much shorter life for the media.
Now there can be some applications where these units could be an option, such as individuals who are on city water with hardness at a reasonable level and NO IRON. If you’re on city water, then a store bought softener may work for you especially if you’re on a tight budget. Keep in mind though even on city water we have replaced these units as early as 2 years from date of purchase.
Now let’s talk about people who are on well water and have high hardness and iron levels. When these cheap softeners are installed on this type of water the industry calls them a “6-month softener”. You’re lucky if you get 6 months. The softener is simply just overmatched and is not designed for this scenario. HSW replaces these units often and it’s our opinion they’re not even worth the money and time to install it. You may want to consider leasing a softener from HSW if your finances will not allow you to buy one of our units.
There are two types of salt that will regenerate a water softener. Sodium chloride, which is the most common, and potassium chloride.
We have come across some people who have bought what they were told is a potassium only softener. They are worried because they would like to change over to using sodium chloride due to the excessive cost of potassium. There is no such thing as a potassium only softener. You can buy the cheapest softener on the market and use potassium. You can mix potassium and salt if you choose. It doesn’t matter what softener you have; you can use either one. The question is, is it worth the money to buy potassium? Some people choose Potassium because they are concerned about sodium in their diet. The issue is that potassium costs about 6 times more than regular salt! It is mined in Canada and is not as abundant, hence the hefty price.
H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide) has a negative ionic charge and will blow right through a softener. A softener is incapable of removing any foul odors such as a rotten egg.
Please refer to the foul-smelling water page for more info >
For some people this could prove to be true. If you soften the water and remove the iron, you would expect it to taste better. We come across some customers who are very happy with the taste of softened water. Officially though the definition of purified drinking water is the reduction of TDS (TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS). A water softener does NOT reduce TDS. Remember a softener exchanges ions so the TDS would stay approximately the same. It would not be the same quality of water as you would find in bottled water. A Reverse Osmosis system, on the other hand, is designed for providing bottled quality water.
Please refer to the Reverse Osmosis systems link for more info >
Some competitors claim that their softener is a dual system by removing hardness as well the disinfectant found in municipal water supplies. This can be achieved by mixing carbon with resin. There is a DOWN SIDE to this however. Activated carbon in most cases will last about 12 to maybe 24 months, depending on water quality and usage. Softener resin should last a minimum of 8 years. Herein lies the problem, you cannot only remove the carbon if it and the resin are mixed together. Whenever the carbon goes bad the resin will be changed too. We see this a lot and feel that this is not a good option for the client. Why replace something when it is still good? Softener resin is not cheap! So yes, a softener can remove chlorine but at what cost??
HSW does not recommend adding carbon to a softener. Let the softener do what it is designed to do and if there is a need to remove disinfectants, then add a separate unit.
Please refer to the whole house carbon system link for more info >
A saltless water softener plain and simple does NOT EXIST. However, there are some alternative systems on the market that will not use salt. These are known as water conditioners. A water conditioner is not a softener. There has been some research showing that a conditioner can be a benefit in some applications. The process called “Crystallization” has been proven to be a nice alternative. The catch though is these alternative options are not a solution for everyone or all water quality. If your water hardness is under 5 GPG and has absolutely NO IRON, then this might be an option to consider. Educate yourself on exactly what these units will do for you. They will not remove hardness. Instead the conditioner will keep the minerals in a suspended solution. What happens though when the water evaporates on your shower door or dishes? Most people that we have met have had negative experiences with these alternative systems. They claim that they still have to Squeegee or wipe down surfaces as the minerals are still present upon water evaporation. People do not want to constantly wipe down all wet areas, that’s the reason why they are inquiring for equipment in the first place! Also keep in mind that in Fort Bend and surrounding counties the hardness is typically over 10GPG and contains iron. Please refer to the chart above on this page. Even in our current age, the best method to remove excessive hardness and levels of iron found in our region is through an ion exchange softener. At this time HSW does not offer an alternative to a softener simply because we do not have faith that it would solve our client’s problems. We do however keep ourselves educated in our industry with brand new technologies and treatment options.
