Water Softener
If you have
hard water,
a water softener is the way to go. A water softener consists of a mineral
tank containing resin, a brine tank containing salt, and a motor that
controls the whole process.
In addition to removing hardness a softener will also remove or reduce the amount of manganese, lead, and ferrous (clear water) iron. A softener can not remove ferric (red water) iron. With the addition of special media a softener can also remove tannins, nitrates, and uranium.
A softener works through a chemical process called ion exchange. The softener
bed consists of resin beads coated in sodium ions (salt). As the water
containing the hardness ions passes through the resin bed, the hardness
ions are attracted to the resin more than the sodium ions. The hardness
ions then stick to the resin in exchange for the sodium ions that were
attached, removing the hardness from the water before it reaches your
shower, bath or sink.
Hardness is measured in grains per gallon (gpg). Your softener has a predetermined
number of grains it can remove. Most residential systems can handle 32,000
grains. So if you have 4 people in your house, and they each use 75 gallons
of water each day, that is 300 gallons of water going through your softener
per day. If your water contains 16 gpg of hardness, that equals 4800 grains
for your softener to remove daily. So after about 6 days, your softener
is saturated and needs to be regenerated.
First, the tank is backwashed with fresh water to loosen the resin bed
and remove any particles of dirt or iron from the resin bed. Next, water
from the brine tank, which has been dissolving salt, is drawn into the
resin bed. Due to the high salt concentration in the water, the resin
is forced to drop the hardness ions and take on sodium ions again. The
water, now containing the unwanted hardness ions is flushed away, leaving
the resin clean, and ready to soften the water again.
The timer on top of the softener will be set at the time of installation
to regenerate, as often as needed, based on the level of hardness and
your water usage.
The resin will last for several years without needing to be replaced,
but the brine tank must be filled with salt on a regular basis. Water
softening salt can be purchased at most hardware and home supply stores.
We also have salt available here for pick up or delivery.
