Posted by Pringles CheezUms on April 5, 2008, 5:41 pm
How does a home water softener work?
We got one a year, maybe two, ago and I'd like to know how it works.
It consists of: 1) a large-ish canister main unit that has the main
control panel and a couple hundred or so pounds of salt 2) a 5-gal
holding tank and 3) an under-the sink reverse-osmosis filter system with
faucet installed in sink. With plastic tubing connecting the units
obviously.
We had a repair/maintenance guy here a week or two ago and we asked him
the same thing, concerned that a couple of us have blood pressure issues
and didn't want additional sodium in the water.
Here's what I think he said (which may or may not be what he actually
said): it softens the water for the whole house, but the salt was only
to clean out the holding tank. About once a day, the holding tank is
emptied and salt water fills the tank. It is then emptied and fresh
water flushes the tank and is then emptied. The R-O unit then starts to
fill the tank again.
There is no brand on the unit, but the commands are in english and
french.
How does a home water softening system work in general? How does it
'soften' water? What physical/chemical/mechanical principles does it
work on? Does it really only use the salt for washing out the holding
tank?
Thank you for the help!
Posted by Craig on April 5, 2008, 5:22 pm
"Pringles CheezUms" wrote...
> How does a home water softener work?
> We got one a year, maybe two, ago and I'd like to know how it works.
> It consists of: 1) a large-ish canister main unit that has the main
> control panel and a couple hundred or so pounds of salt 2) a 5-gal
> holding tank and 3) an under-the sink reverse-osmosis filter system with
> faucet installed in sink. With plastic tubing connecting the units
> obviously.
> We had a repair/maintenance guy here a week or two ago and we asked him
> the same thing, concerned that a couple of us have blood pressure issues
> and didn't want additional sodium in the water.
> Here's what I think he said (which may or may not be what he actually
> said): it softens the water for the whole house, but the salt was only
> to clean out the holding tank. About once a day, the holding tank is
> emptied and salt water fills the tank. It is then emptied and fresh
> water flushes the tank and is then emptied. The R-O unit then starts to
> fill the tank again.
> There is no brand on the unit, but the commands are in english and
> french.
> How does a home water softening system work in general? How does it
> 'soften' water? What physical/chemical/mechanical principles does it
> work on? Does it really only use the salt for washing out the holding
> tank?
> Thank you for the help!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softener
Posted by Stan Brown on April 6, 2008, 1:54 am
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softener
So it would seem that home water softeners work by taking out
calcium, magnesium, manganese, and iron ions and replacing them with
sodium ions.
I wonder about the concentration. Is the OP right to be concerned
about sodium intake from softened water?
--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...
Posted by Craig on April 6, 2008, 9:56 am
"Stan Brown" wrote...
> Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:22:28 GMT from Craig :
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softener
> So it would seem that home water softeners work by taking out
> calcium, magnesium, manganese, and iron ions and replacing them with
> sodium ions.
> I wonder about the concentration. Is the OP right to be concerned
> about sodium intake from softened water?
Yes, softeners that recharge the ion exchange resin by using salt are a
concern. Back as a kid, my family had a water softener--but unsoftened cold
water was piped to our kitchen sink (and outdoor spigots) for drinking and
cooking rather than softened water.
Craig
Posted by krw on April 6, 2008, 10:08 am
news.ops.worldnet.att.net>, wpyr@invalid.us says...
>
> "Stan Brown" wrote...
>
> > Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:22:28 GMT from Craig :
> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softener
> >
> > So it would seem that home water softeners work by taking out
> > calcium, magnesium, manganese, and iron ions and replacing them with
> > sodium ions.
> >
> > I wonder about the concentration. Is the OP right to be concerned
> > about sodium intake from softened water?
>
> Yes, softeners that recharge the ion exchange resin by using salt are a
> concern. Back as a kid, my family had a water softener--but unsoftened cold
> water was piped to our kitchen sink (and outdoor spigots) for drinking and
> cooking rather than softened water.
I assume it wasn't piped to the outdoor spigots for cooking or
drinking, rather because it was a waste to water the lawn or wash
the car with "softened" water.
--
Keith
XML site map
> We got one a year, maybe two, ago and I'd like to know how it works.
> It consists of: 1) a large-ish canister main unit that has the main
> control panel and a couple hundred or so pounds of salt 2) a 5-gal
> holding tank and 3) an under-the sink reverse-osmosis filter system with
> faucet installed in sink. With plastic tubing connecting the units
> obviously.
> We had a repair/maintenance guy here a week or two ago and we asked him
> the same thing, concerned that a couple of us have blood pressure issues
> and didn't want additional sodium in the water.
> Here's what I think he said (which may or may not be what he actually
> said): it softens the water for the whole house, but the salt was only
> to clean out the holding tank. About once a day, the holding tank is
> emptied and salt water fills the tank. It is then emptied and fresh
> water flushes the tank and is then emptied. The R-O unit then starts to
> fill the tank again.
> There is no brand on the unit, but the commands are in english and
> french.
> How does a home water softening system work in general? How does it
> 'soften' water? What physical/chemical/mechanical principles does it
> work on? Does it really only use the salt for washing out the holding
> tank?
> Thank you for the help!