Water Treatment Questions Answered

What is hard water?

When water is referred to as 'hard' this simply means, that it contains more minerals than ordinary water. These are especially the minerals calcium and magnesium. The degree of hardness of the water increases, when more calcium and magnesium dissolves.
Magnesium and calcium are positively charged ions. Because of their presence, other positively charged ions will dissolve less easily in hard water than in water that does not contain calcium and magnesium.
This is the cause of the fact that soap doesn't really dissolve in hard water.

What does a water softener do?

Water softeners are specific ion exchangers that are designed to remove ions, which are positively charged.
Softeners mainly remove calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions. Calcium and magnesium are often referred to as 'hardness minerals'.
Softeners are sometimes even applied to remove iron. The softening devices are able to remove up to five milligrams per litre (5 mg/L) of dissolved iron.
Softeners can operate automatic, semi-automatic, or manual. Each type is rated on the amount of hardness it can remove before regeneration is necessary.
A water softener collects hardness minerals within its conditioning tank and from time to time flushes them away to drain. Ion exchangers are often used for water softening. When an ion exchanger is applied for water softening, it will replace the calcium and magnesium ions in the water with other ions, for instance sodium or potassium. The exchanger ions are added to the ion exchanger reservoir as sodium and potassium salts (NaCl and KCl).

Why does soft water feel slimy or slick in the shower?

Water that has been conditioned by a water softener allows soap to dissolve more completely than in hard water. It is common for first time users of soft water to have a slimy experience in the shower. This is due to using more soap than is necessary. The amount of soap needed to lather up is very small in soft water. This is one of the benefits of soft water (less soap is needed in the bathing, laundry, and household cleaning). Also, the pores of your skin will no longer be clogged by the undissolved soap. Once a person has adjusted their soap usage and is used to the smooth clean feeling achieved by bathing in soft water, they will have a negative "ruff" feeling, if they bath in hard water again.

How much salt should my softener be using?

1. The average is 60 lbs. per month, but can vary depending upon the type of valve used and the quality of water being treated.
2. Metered valves will tend to use less salt than a non metered unit (i.e. one set to regenerate every so many days with no regards for actual water used).
3. An average softener with 1 cu. ft. of resins (32,000 grain, 10 " x 44 " tank) should use about 9 lbs. per regeneration to achieve a economical 24,000 grain capacity (hardness in grains divided into grains of capacity results in the gallons of water that can be treated before resins is exhausted).

Will a water softener make my water safe to drink?

No. Your water must be safe to drink before you condition the water with a softener. If you are concerned about the safety of your drinking water, contact your local health department about getting a bacteria test, or full lab analysis on your water.

How does my water softener affect my septic system?

People using home water softeners often wonder whether these units might cause problems for their onsite septic systems. Researchers from National Small Flows Clearinghouse found that brine wastes had no negative effects on the bacterial population living in the aerobic treatment tank, even when the system was loaded with twice the normal amount of brine. The tests determined that water softener wastes actually help with treatment processes. Researchers also found that the additional amount of water discharged to a treatment tank during the regeneration process had no negative impact.

Will a softener remove the iron from my water?

Yes, if the iron is still in solution (it has not been oxidized). How much it can remove depends on the size resin tank of your softener. The more iron in the water, the larger the resin tank needs to be to remove all the iron. If you are on a well, you may need an Iron Removal unit to remove the majority of the iron in the water before it reaches the softener, the softener can then remove the remaing amounts of iron.