How Does a Water Softener Work?

Living in 2023, you should know firsthand how important it is to have soft water.

As water is essential for almost every house chore in everyday life, using hardened water can cause many problems.

These problems include deterioration of appliances, soap patches across kitchens and bathrooms, and, most importantly, drying out hair and skin. It all happens because of calcium and magnesium salts in water which makes it hard and unsuitable for use.

Not only will a water softener avoid the aforementioned problems, but you will also save a lot of time and money on replacing damaged water heaters, rusty and scaly faucet heads, and hours spent cleansing your bathroom and kitchen surfaces from soap patches.

If you ask me, having a water softener is a must.

Wondering how a water softener works? In this article, I’ll tell you exactly that.

What Is A Water Softener?

To understand the mechanism of water softner, you’ll need to understand what it actually is. Basically, a water softener acts just as a filtration system. It filters the hard water and removes calcium and magnesium ­– minerals that cause the water to harden.

This removal process is called ion exchange. If you don’t have a water softener at your home, you are inviting several common household issues.

Have you ever wondered why the water pressure in your home has decreased? It could be due to hard water scaling up your pipes and clogging them over time.

Not just the pipes but hard water wreak havoc on a modern house in every imaginable way.

Scales not only damage pipes but can also cause serious harm to your appliances, such as coffee makers, ice machines, and dishwashers.

Moreover, hot water appliances are also at risk from hard water since high water temperatures will cause magnesium and calcium to solidify further and harden into the appliances, such as your water heater.

So, if you ever wondered why your water heater sounds like it’s popping popcorn, you know why.

How Does A Water Softener Work?

A water softener removes magnesium and calcium from the water through ion exchange. How, you may wonder? Well, there’s an entire standard of procedure it follows.

When the mineral tank is filled up with hard water, it flows through a pile of plastic resin beads. These beads are usually made of polystyrene and are charged with a sodium ion.

Getting into its chemistry a bit, the resin beads have a negative charge; they are anions. Magnesium and calcium minerals are positively charged, which makes them cations.

As opposite charges attract each other, the minerals are attracted to the resin beads.

Once the hard water flows through the beads, the resin sucks out all the hardening contaminants from the water, making it softer and clearer.

There are three components of a water softener; a mineral tank, a control valve, and a brine tank. All of these components have different functions. However, they work together in order to rid your water of all the hardening contaminants.

Softening the water is just the first stage of the cleansing process. The water softener then observes the flow of the water, making sure it is adequate.

Lastly, it cleans the system through a process called regeneration.

The purpose of the mineral tank and a control valve is quite self-explanatory, as the name suggests itself. However, let us talk about the brine tank.

Adjacent to the mineral tank sits a much smaller tank called the brine tank. Its main purpose is to aid the water softener with the regeneration process.

Essentially, what this tank does is contain a certain amount of concentrated salt, or potassium (if needed), to restore the positive charge of the resin beads.

Salt needs to be added manually and will, later on, dissolve itself at the bottom of the tank.

Nevertheless, you should know that if the salt has emptied in the brine tank, then the water softener will no longer soften the water.

So, always make sure the brine tank is full of salt or potassium.

How To Check For Water Hardness?

Checking for the hardness of water is crucial. Without knowing the exact water hardness, you’ll not be getting the right softener for your use.

And that’ll be a waste of your efforts and money.

Checking for the hardness of water is simple. There are a few ways to do it.

The first and easiest is to take a water sample from your place and get it tested at the nearby laboratory. That way you’ll know the exact water hardness, and this is the most accurate way to figure out water hardness.

Next comes the DIY home kit method. There are several water hardness measuring kits available that you can get for a few dollars and test the water hardness at your home only. These kits come with charts and measurements that you’ll compare the water hardness against.

This is a less effective method than a laboratory but works reasonably well.

The next method is the lather method. It is to take water and put some soap in it and see if there’s a formation of lather or not. Hard water doesn’t form a lather. And soft water does.

So if your soapy water doesn’t produce lather, it simply means that you have hard water. But you’ll not know the exact hardness of the water.

Types Of Water Softeners

Mainly there are four main types of water softeners, salt-based water softeners, salt-free water softeners, dual-tank water softeners, and magnetic water softeners.

Salt-based water softener

These water softeners are most commonly used throughout the world.

Their process of water softening is quite simple, as previously described, and is easy to maintain. However, the only setback you’ll face is since this type of water softener is salt-based, the salt runs out frequently and needs to be manually replaced.

What this implies is that if the brine tank of your softener has run out of salt, it won’t be able to soften your water, as salt is an integral part of the process.

In most homes, the salt needs to be refilled every week, but it is quite subjective to point out. Depending on your usage, the salt can even last up to a month or as low as three days.

Nevertheless, you should know that even though salt-based water softeners are widely popular, there are a few downsides of using it.

• The first downside is the frequent replacement of salt.
• If not taken care of, the device will start to deteriorate and will eventually be useless.
• The cleaning cycle of this softener is a long process and uses a lot of water.
• The byproduct, or the wastewater, should not touch the vegetation as its TDS levels are quite high and can easily kill the plants.
• Requires proper planning prior to the installation as if it is near a sidewalk or a lawn, it can be critical.

Salt-free Water Softeners

Unlike salt-based, these water softeners rely on a process called TAC (template-assisted crystallisation) to rid the water of harmful substances. As the water flows through the softener, the minerals attach themselves to the polymeric beads at different nucleation sites.

Once these minerals are attached to the nucleation sites, they form into hard crystals through neutralisation that prevents them from passing alongside the water.

Later on, upon completion of the neutralisation process, the crystals then harmlessly pass through the water, being utterly harmless and won’t cause your pipes and other appliances to scale.

These softeners might not be as efficient as salt-based ones, but they still get the job done and require comparatively low maintenance.

However, you should know the most common cons of this product.

• Even though the water is harmless, it can still feel like hard water whilst washing your hands or hair.
• These softeners are not as efficient, and some heavy minerals still pass through, which might cause your utensils to stain.
• Has a relatively shorter lifespan of approximately three to six years.
• It will prove to be expensive in the long run.
• Requires installation of a separate system to remove some metals and chloride.

Dual-tank Water Softener

This type of softener is also salt-based but with a minor difference. As you might have guessed from the name, it has two resin tanks instead of one.

Thanks to the additional resin tank, if your house has more than 4 people, then this softener will be befitting for you the most. Remarkably enough, this water softener is extremely sufficient even if the water supply to your home is through a well.

Rest assured, this water softener might not be the most popular, but it surely is the best one on the market. It works seamlessly and will provide your house with the purest form of water.

Now, time for some cons of this water softener.

• Firstly, they are quite expensive.
• They make the water a little salty.
• Would require refilling salt more frequently depending on the model.
• The resin tanks require more regeneration.
• Similar to salt-based, the wastewater of these water softeners can also harm the vegetation.
• Requires more maintenance.

Magnetic Water Softeners

Lastly, we have magnetic or electric water softeners. Also known as descalers, these water softeners are best suited for small homes since they take up little to no room.

Most people often worry about the size as water softeners take up a lot of room but let us tell you that it is not the case with electric ones. They are much more compact and easily tackle the low-space issue.

Instead of being installed in the middle of your main water line, they rely on a power supply to work. However, some models might require to be installed directly into your home’s central electrical system.

The process is rather simple. They use a magnetic field to strip the negative and positive ions and later neutralise the heavy metals and minerals from the water.

Since the ions are stripped, they aren’t able to bond with each other, making them entirely harmless.

Now let’s discuss the disadvantages of magnetic water softeners.

• Doesn’t remove the minerals but neutralises them instead.
• Not able to remove aged residue from the water.
• Has a small radius; only effective till 50 feet of installation site.
• Doesn’t affect the taste and smell of your water depending on the model.
• No real evidence to prove if it actually softens the water.

Maintenance and Upkeep

Maintenance of water softeners is extremely subjective; as you probably know by now, it is entirely dependent from model to model. However, since they are expensive, it is highly recommended to keep a regular check and see if everything is adequately working.

Negligence might not prevail at first, but in the long run, it can be quite costly.

You can start the maintenance process by regenerating the resin beads if you have a, or plan on buying a salt-based water softener. Keep refilling the salt and keep an eye on the brine tank.

Final Words

So, to sum things up, it is safe to say that water softeners are life savers. Not only do they protect your household appliances but also positively affect your hair and skin.

However, it is worth mentioning that you should always call customer support in case your product starts to malfunction and requires troubleshooting.

Water softeners are fragile products and if you ask me, negligence is not an option.

Lastly, if you haven’t already equipped your home with a modern water softener, it is high time you get about it. It is a must-have product in 2023.