Easy Water Systems
Published February 19, 2009 | 
Emil writes:
We have hard water from out well. Its constantly plugging up the kitchen outlets, the showers, the dishwasher, etc..
We see advertisements about “Easy Water” systems…Easy Wate is their trade name apparently…what do you think of their systems, would it be a good choice to purchase their equipment, is there a better system?
Hi Emil, thanks for your question.
Easy water claims to be able to soften water without adding sodium or potassium like conventional hardness treatment. They claim they can soften water without removing any calcium at all.
Most people want water softeners because of the effect that hard water has on detergents and soaps, as well as scale build up issue. The harder your water, the harder it is to get a lather from your soap. This is because the components that make your water hard – dissolved calcium, magnesium, and other trace minerals – react with the soap to form a precipitate, or what you would call “scum”. They also flock out of your water due to friction, heat, and other factors and form scale in your pipes and on your taps, etc.
The key here is that regardless as to what form your dissolved calcium is in, as long as it is dissolved and in your water supply it will continue to react with your soaps and detergents, heat, friction, etc. and produce that undesirable effect.
I went to the Easy Water website. There are a few key elements I found there:
- The main focus of the website was on how harmful sodium is, and how traditional methods add sodium to water.
- They claim only to reduce and remove scale, there’s nothing about effects with soap or detergents
- The only third party proof they have is some questionable photos of what they claim is calcium in tree like branches before hand and little smooth droplets after wards
- They post no data that they’ve had third party accreditation of this technology proving it works in blind studies
- The only other resources they do have points to articles on how unhealthy too much sodium is for you
This electronic water softener claims to send “electronic pulses” that change the state of the calcium ion. Regardless, if it’s still there dissolved in the water, it will still cause problems.
The website does not address the science behind softening, it does not give any valid references to real studies and tests that has been done, it uses clever marketing and health scare tactics to try and drive sales.
To go into the actual and proven methods of softening, there are three ways:
- ion exchange
- sequestering
- reverse osmosis filtration
Sequestering involves the addition of chemicals to “bind” the calcium in the water, rendering it ineffective for scale formation or reaction with soap or detergents. This is generally done with boilers and large industrial heating systems, as sequestering chemicals do not make good drinking water. Reverse osmosis filtration removes everything, and is extremely expensive for whole house water flows.
Ion exchange, for a home owner, is currently the most viable and trusted way to soften your home water. It is a tried and true method, has been proven over and over again, and simply works, no questions asked. There is of course two issues that an Easy Water sales representative would bring up, health issues from excessive sodium, and environmental issues with the brine backwash.
Both issues are easy to deal with. When your plumber is installing your softener, have him run a line of un-softened water to your kitchen tap. Use this water for drinking and cooking. For the environmental concerns, please follow this link to an article prepared by the Canadian Water Quality Association. It seems that dilution of your septic water with briny softener backwash isn’t such a problem after all.
My opinion is stay away from any of these electric water softeners, go with tried, true and proven, and you can’t go wrong.
I hope I’ve helped. If you need any further clarification, or have another question, please let me know.
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Sulphur burps from water.
Published January 28, 2009 | Rachael from Alaska writes:
Hi! I was reading some answers on your website, and have a question. We recently purchased a home on a well. We have a water softner with salt, but do not know the last time it was filled. My family has been experiencing “sulfur burps” since we moved in. Our water smells fine, but I am worried that we are drinking something that is not agreeing with our stomachs. Could there be a way that we can fix this by getting a water purifier on our sink for drinking water?
Hi Rachel, thanks for writing in.
Water softener resin is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria. This is especially true if left to sit or run without salt, or proper maintenance. If using a water softener, it is a good idea to have a kitchen tap as non softened water for drinking and cooking with. This will prevent excess salt from the softening process potentially harming you, and prevent contamination from bacteria.
Ground water commonly has sulphur reducing bacteria. This usually departs a ‘rotten egg’ smell in the water when they are in the ground. It is possible that these bacteria are growing in your water softener and you are ingesting them. Sulphur reducing bacteria reduce minute quantities of sulphur compounds to create hydrogen sulphide, which they may be doing in your guts. This is however consistent with the processes of the bacteria, as the hydrogen sulphide they produce is a gas, which may be why you’re getting these “sulphur burps”.
I wish I could give you more information on the particular processes of these bacteria or if this is even the case, but I am not a health care professional. I do know that sulphur reducing bacteria are not considered a health problem and hydrogen sulphide is considered only a nuisance.
I would be careful of counter top water purifiers like Brita or other carbon filter based products. Most of these products are only for improving the aesthetic quality of already potable water, and in fact could foster further bacteria growth (carbon, like softener resin, is considered ‘housing’ for bacteria).
To protect your water supply it needs to be disinfected. My advice is to ensure that you do have at least one kitchen tap free of softened water for drinking and cooking. You may want to invest in a sediment filter and a whole house U.V. system. I currently operate twenty small systems with U.V., and use the U.V. Pure product. I feel it is an excellent product and a top notch company, and has served me well for the 5 years I’ve had their product installed. This particular product has built in alarms that assures proper does for inactivating micro organisms, and if the proper U.V. dose drops too low, it will shut down your water and issue and alarm. You can visit them at http://www.uvpure.com. They should be able to point you to a distributor in the area.
If you continue to have these ‘sulphur burps’, I would encourage you to visit your local health care professional for a diagnosis.
I hope I’ve helped. Please do not hesitate to write in again for further clarification or to ask another question.
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