The Truth of Water – Answers

Eberto from San Diego writes:

Erik from Baja, Mexico writes:

I have a well and rather hard water – 24 grains per gallon. I would like to soften it, but prefer not to use salt (ion exchange) because of the sodium it adds to the water and the briny residual that is left over and is not green to dispose of.

I have read about electronic “softeners” including this one – http://www.mpulse.com.mx/commercial.html – which a local dealer in my area carries.

Some people claim that they work great, many people claim that they are snake oil and do not – and cannot – effect the water hardness at all.

I’m looking for an unbiased, expert opinion. Can you offer assistance?

Hi Erik, thank you for writing in.

I have never seen a unit such as this, ever.  It must be very new or localized in your area.  Because of my profession, I’m privy to a whole host of water treatment magazines toting the newest of technologies and have not seen a device such as this.  Although to be fair, these magazines concentrate on large water system equipment, and softening is something that no large water purveyor does.

I’ve reviewed the website you sent me for these electronic hardness removing devices.  What they are claiming to do is change bicarbonates into carbonates, and they claim the carbonates don’t form scale.  I’m not sure if this is true, as hardness is almost always measured in mg/L calcium carbonate. Also, if they do not remove the hardness, that means it is still there to interfere with washing.

I don’t know if these devices will work or not.  By the description of the technology, they claim that there will be no scale forming calcium in the water. But it’s still there, so it probably will interfere with washing, which is the reason most people purchase softeners in the first place.

Obviously there is doubt in your mind that this device will work, as you have talked to people, some who have said it works great and others have said it does not. I would think that perhaps this type of product is aimed at more commercial and industrial uses.  As a new technology, there are most likely some bugs to work out in the field as with any new technology.

What you should to consider is that there is absolutely no doubt that conventional ion exchange works to remove the calcium from your water.  Your water is 24 grains hard, and at that level it may be best to go with the tried and true technology.

Should you decide to go the ion exchange route, you do not have to use sodium chloride salt to regenerate your resin.  You could also use potassium chloride.  Potassium chloride will work with any softener, and it exchanges the calcium ions with potassium ions.  There are very little health concerns with potassium compared to sodium, and there is even some evidence it may be beneficial for you. Still, I would use un-softened water for cooking and drinking and soften only the water you use for bathing, laundry, and other washing activities.

As with any softener, you should look for one that will make the most efficient use of your salt, whether you use sodium chloride or potassium chloride.  The best softeners incorporate timers and flow meters to time their backwash.  This creates a control that will do two things:

1. Backwash only when your resin needs to be regenerated, saving salt and
2. Ensure back washing is done only at a time convenient for you

I hope I’ve been helpful to you. If you need further clarifications or would like to ask another question, please do not hesitate to write in again.

Many people have water softeners in their homes.  Many of you that do don’t understand how a softener work.  Sure, it allows you to use less detergent in the laundry and your soap lathers much better in the shower, but how does it work?

Hardness in water is actually calcium.  Hardness is also a few trace minerals like magnesium and iron, but the majority of this hardness is calcium.  Calcium, when dissolved in water forms what’s called a cation. That is, it takes on a positive charge.

All this calcium is what makes soap harder to lather, which makes it undesirable in your water for cleaning purposes.  Many people who live in areas with very hard water will install a water softener to take out all the hardness.

A water softener is simply a vessel filled with thousands and thousands of little beads called an ion exchange resin.  The resin will remove the calcium from the water in a process called ion exchange.  This process can remove the calcium in your water only by substituting another element in its place.  In this case, the element is sodium.

The salt you add to your softener is actually sodium chloride.  When introduced into water, it dissolves into two compounds: A positively charged sodium atom and a negatively charged chloride atom.  As the water passes through this resin, the resin takes a calcium ion and gives up a sodium ion.

The end result is a concentration of sodium ions in your water in place of the calcium ions, and sodium ions do not contribute to hardness in your water.

Eventually the resin becomes depleted of all of it’s sodium ions so it must be replenished.  This is what happens when your softener system goes into backwash.  If flushes out all the calcium to drain and replenishes all of the sodium lost to the ion exchange process.

This is why your softener needs salt and why you must keep replacing it.

It’s a good method for making nice soft water for cleaning, but remember: The calcium is replaced with sodium on a 1:1 basis.  This may mean that you end up with a large amount of sodium in your water which is not good for people with hypertension and heart disease.  If you do install a softener, it is in your best interest to have the plumber bypass the lines to your kitchen sink so you can use this water for drinking and cooking without high concentrations of sodium.