What makes a water softener work

The beads carry a negative charge. Calcium and magnesium in water both carry positive charges. This means that these minerals will cling to the beads as the hard water passes through the mineral tank. Sodium ions also have positive charges, albeit not as strong as the charge on the calcium and magnesium. When a very strong brine solution is flushed through a tank that has beads already saturated with calcium and magnesium, the sheer volume of the sodium ions is enough to drive the calcium and magnesium ions off the beads.

Water softeners have a separate brine tank that uses common salt to create this brine solution. In normal operation, hard water moves into the mineral tank and the calcium and magnesium ions move to the beads, replacing sodium ions. The sodium ions go into the water. Once the beads are saturated with calcium and magnesium, the unit enters a 3-phase regenerating cycle. First, the backwash phase reverses water flow to flush dirt out of the tank. In the recharge phase, the concentrated sodium-rich salt solution is carried from the brine tank through the mineral tank.

The sodium collects on the beads, replacing the calcium and magnesium, which go down the drain. Once this phase is over, the mineral tank is flushed of excess brine and the brine tank is refilled. Most popular water softeners have an automatic regenerating system. The most basic type has an electric timer that flushes and recharges the system on a regular schedule. During recharging, soft water is not available.

A second type of control uses a computer that watches how much water is used. When enough water has passed through the mineral tank to have depleted the beads of sodium, the computer triggers regeneration. These softeners often have reserve resin capacity, so that some soft water will be available during recharging. A third type of control uses a mechanical water meter to measure water usage and initiate recharging.

The advantage of this system is that no electrical components are required and the mineral tank is only recharged when necessary. When it is equipped with two mineral tanks, softened water is always available, even when the unit is recharging. Companies that sell water softening equipment generally offer test kits that help you determine the hardness of your water.

The softener tank is filled with specially formulated resin beads, which are permanently sealed inside the tank. The brine tank has a removable lid so you can fill it with salt pellets or potassium chloride pellets.

Water enters the top of the water-softener tank and percolates down through the resin beads. The resin has a negative charge, which attracts the positively charged minerals in the water a process known as ion exchange.

The mineral deposits cling to the resin and the now-softened water exits the softener tank and flows throughout the house. At that point, the softener tank must be regenerated, or, flushed clean. An on-board computer calculates the amount of water that has flowed through the softener. When it reaches the preprogrammed setting, regeneration automatically begins. For a three-bedroom house and family of four, regeneration usually occurs every 12, gallons. During regeneration, salty water from the brine tank flows up the fill tube and into the softener tank.

A rinse cycle commences and the salty water washes the mineral deposits off the resin beads. The regenerated water—and all those destructive mineral deposits—are flushed out the discharge hose.

The system then automatically reverts back to softening the incoming water. The regeneration process slowly dissolves the salt or potassium chloride pellets in the brine tank. Again, the resin beads are permanently sealed in the softener tank and never need replacing. When we had both our children living at home, our family of four required me to add one pound bag of salt pellets each month. Modern water softeners are very reliable and virtually maintenance free.

Type keyword s to search. Over time these deposits can accumulate, clog, or even corrode pipes and cause major plumbing problems. Hard water deposits can build up in boilers and hot water heaters, making them less efficient and more expensive to use.

To make a long story short, hard water can leave lasting, negative effects on every surface it runs on, over or through. Believe it or not, Water Softeners are a lot like magnets.

What happens? They repel each other. But, what happens when you try connecting the positive end of one with the negative end of the other? They immediately connect, SNAP! The fact that positive and negative things attract is the basic idea of how Water Softeners work. Calcium and magnesium, the two key culprits of hard water, are both positively charged molecules. And, as the hard water pumps through the softening system, it passes through a filter filled with negatively charged resin beads.