After finding out that your home has hard water, the next step is to install a water softener. While a seemingly complex system, water softening has been around for over 100 years. While the process has evolved over time to improve efficiency and cost, the basics remain the same.
Ion-Exchanges Made Simple
The first step is the installation of a water softener at the point of entry for your homes water. The water softening process begins as water flows into the resin tank. Inside this resin tank are resin beads that are specifically designed to attract the magnesium and calcium ions that are causing your hard water issue. The magnesium and calcium ions which contain a positive charge are attracted to the resin beads that contain a negative charge. Once collected, the resin beads exchange the magnesium and calcium ions with either sodium or potassium ions, dependent upon your situation and system.
Following the exchange, a brine solution is safely drained away to a small tank where it will be used for regeneration. The soft water then flows either into an additional filtration system such as a carbon filter, reverse osmosis system, acid neutralizer, or directly into your homes water supply. Despite many misconceptions, the amount of sodium or potassium added in place of the calcium/magnesium to your drinking water is very minute. There will be no “salty” taste and levels will not affect any residents on a low sodium diet.
Regeneration
After several days of usage, the resin membrane becomes somewhat saturated and is not as effective at reducing the hardness of your water. Your system comes equipped with programmable options of when you would like the machine to regenerate its membranes.
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