Water Treatment

There are several ways to treat hard water but the two most effective ways are salt water softeners and salt free conditioners. Each have their pros and cons.

A salt water softener removes the hard water molecules from the water and flushes them down your drain. The result is nearly 100% “soft” water that will not leave any scale on your pipes, fixtures or glassware. Salt water softeners do require regular use of salt by way of someone installing salt into the brine tank. They also regenerate, and thereby use water and require a drain. They also require electricity to properly function. The end result is “soft” water that you can feel and see.

Salt free conditioners treat the hardness in your water, but retain the actual molecules. The treated hard water molecules therefore still exist in your water, but due to the treatment process don’t etch themselves onto the pipes. fixtures and glassware. They are virtually maintenance free, don’t require a drain or waste any water and don’t require electricity. It is important to note that the hard water molecules that are treated through the conditioner still exist in the water after the filtration process. So the water won’t feel “soft” and you may experience minor scale buildup. The scale that you may see is treated, so it should be significantly reduced and easy to clean.

Salt water softeners require the regular addition of salt to the brine tank. They generally have programmable heads with date and times that should be kept accurate. You’ll also want to ensure that the system is regenerating. Most quality water softeners regenerate once every 1 to 3 months.

Salt free conditioners are virtually maintenance free. The water goes in, is treated and goes out. Some salt free conditioners go through a regeneration process, which will usually take place once every 1 to 3 months, but most are non-regenerating and require virtually no maintenance.

No. Water softeners / conditioners treat the water hardness (scale) in your water. Carbon filtration systems remove chemicals like chlorine, chloramines, naturally occurring organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals etc. However, softeners / conditioners are commonly paired with carbon filtration systems so that you, and your home, are protected from both scale and chemicals.

There are many factors that contribute to how long your system will last. The primary factors are water usage and water quality.

Generally speaking, a quality salt water softener will last 7 to 10 yeaers.

Salt free conditioners vary dramatically in quality, some last 3 to 5 years while others claim to have a lifelong media.

Carbon filtration system generally need to be re-bedded or replaced every 5 years. Again it is very important to note that there is no “one size fits all” answer to this question. If your water usage is significant, the provided lifespan estimates may be cut dramatically. It’s always recommended that you have your system inspected and/or your water tested to see if your system is doing what it is supposed to do.

Salt water softeners make “soft” water through a process called Ion Exchange. In basic terms, Ion Exchange captures the hard water molecules and replaces them with salt molecules. The amount of salt that gets introduces into your water is based on how hard your water is. The harder your water, the more salt will be in your water. Fortunately, many of the salt water softeners we install are on municiple water and that water isn’t particularly hard. Because the water isn’t especially hard, the amount of salt in the water is very low.

Additionally, most quality water softeners can utilize salt or potassium. So if you’re worried about salt being in your water, potassium can be a good alternative.

Treatment systems should be installed in a controlled environment where they are accessible for service and where they won’t be subjected to freezing temperatures. In our area, most homeowners have a whole house water loop – which is usually in the garage near the whole home water shut off valve. Some homes don’t have a whole house water loop, and if that is the case it’s possible to install the system on the water heater inlet. However, if the system is installed on the water heater inlet, only the hot water will be treated.

Another consideration is your system’s regeneration cycle. If your system has a regeneration cycle, a drain will be required for its operation.

Generally speaking, most salt water softeners, salt free conditioners and carbon filters are installed at the whole house water inlet and will serve the entire home. That means every faucet, shower, toilet etc. will be treated. On rare occasions, a system is installed on the hot water side only – but that’s not very common. Also, some homes are plumbed such that the hose bibs are not treated and sometimes the kitchen faucet is not treated.

The short answer is yes. If you have a salt water softener it will regenerate and use water in the process. Fortunately, there are a quality units that regenerate based on water usage and are very efficient in the regeneration process – using on average between 40 to 60 gallons per regeneration cycle. Some salt water softeners are not as efficient. “Low end” water softeners often regenerate based on a predetermined time frame (like every 30 days) and their regeneration process will waste 100 to 200 gallons per regeneration. That is why we recommend quality products that are efficient in design saving you water and salt.

No. The majority of quality salt free conditioners don’t require a regeneration cycle and waste no water to condition your water.

An RO (Reverse Osmosis) is a point of use water filtration system that provides the user with nearly 100% clean, drinkable water. Very large RO’s can be installed to filter all of the water in your home but it is far more common to see point of use systems. Point of use Reverse Osmosis systems are generally installed at the kitchen sink and have a dedicated faucet. One of the important things to be aware of with a point of use RO systems is that they have a storage/pressure tank that fills with filtered water. Because the water is stored in the tank, there is a finite amount of water in the tank you can draw from – usually 1 to 2 gallons. Another important point is that Reverse Osmosis systems take time to make filtered water. It will generally take between 1 to 2 hours to (completely) fill the storage tank with usable water. Point of use RO’s also require regular filter changes – usually annually or biannually. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that RO’s waste water during their filtration process. Better quality systems will waste 1 to 2 gallons of water per filtered gallon produced, while “economical” RO’s can waste up to 7 gallons for every one gallon of clean water produced. So keep that in mind when choosing a reverse osmosis system.