How Do Salt Free Water Softeners Work

Water softening involves an ion exchange process which removes both magnesium mg2 and calcium ca2 from water.

How do salt free water softeners work.

It is this removal of magnesium and calcium that defines water softening. In the salt based process above true water softening hardness minerals are actually removed from the water. While salt free water softeners are indeed salt free they do not soften water. By definition a water softener is any device that reduces the hardness to below one 1 grain per gallon gpg.

If it doesn t do that it s not a water softener. Conditioned water also doesn t have the slippery feel you get from a water softener which can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on your preference. The salt free water softener in this test was provided by pelican water treatment. Salt free water softeners are actually not softeners they are water conditioners.

A water softener removes minerals that create water hardness one of the most common water quality problems a homeowner encounters. But the facts don t bear that out. During the ion exchange process a polymer resin bed attracts hard water minerals and replaces them with sodium ions. A more accurate description of units commonly marketed as salt free water softeners would be a salt free water conditioner or scale inhibitor.

They do not soften the water but break the hard minerals in a way that they can pass easily from plumbing through faucets into the drain. Salt free water softeners are water conditioners in actual. A salt free water softener does not exist. Salt free water softeners and traditional salt based softeners produce measureably different results traditional salt based water softeners work by removing the unwanted hardness minerals from your water hard water symptoms impossible.

Hard water destroys appliances leaves filmy soap scum across bathrooms and kitchens and dries out hair and skin. How does a salt free water softener work. In other words water conditioners are known as descalers or scale inhibitors. In the salt free process minerals are retained in the water but their form is changed so they will not adhere to surfaces.

These systems use template assisted crystallization tac to attract hardness causing particles. Water softeners mainly consist of systems using the ion exchange process reverse osmosis system deionization systems and distillation systems. Just test cold water hardness after a salt free system is installed compared to a newly installed salt based system. The simple and easy answer is no because in actuality what many companies call salt free water conditioners simply do not soften the water.

Do salt free water softeners work. Do salt free water softeners work. The salt or potassium chloride based system will measure 0 to 1 hardness. Instead of salt free water softener you can call it a water conditioner.