How Does a Water Softener Work?
Water is a fascinating thing and we all take it for granted at times. At E.W. Tompkins Plumbing Heating Cooling, we work with a lot of water! Sadly, we see pipes and faucets ruined by minerals. The homeowner purchases top of the line faucets and shower heads but their home water is slowly destroying it. For that reason we will suggest getting a water test and installing a water softener system or a water filtration system or a combination unit.
Minerals like calcium and magnesium have positive ions. A water softener takes those and exchanges them for something else. Most water softeners use sodium (also positively charged) to replace the “hardness” minerals.
So, how does the exchange occur?
Resin beads or Zeolite are used as a water softener medium. Imagine! These have a negative charge so they attract the positive charged ions. Because sodium has a weaker charge (Na+) compared to calcium (Ca+2), magnesium (Mg+2), and iron (Fe+3), it will be easily pushed aside by the “hardness” minerals once the hard water enters the softener tank. So the water and some small amount of sodium gets put back into the plumbing in the house and the minerals get trapped inside.
Now they are trapped. What happens ? Regeneration happens. There is a large tank called a brine tank. There is where the water and the salt are mixed and become a brine.
During Regeneration, the new brine solution is taken into the water softener tank where all the minerals are trapped! Because there are ore sodium icons than hard minueral, the sodium ions move out the minerals from the medium.
It is sort of like things happen in reverse. The water with the minerals get passed out in the wastewater drain. Its because there is more sodium icons then hardness minerals. When this regeneration is done, the water softener is set to do it all over again. It uses salt. If you have an issue with salt intake, there are other options to use for a water softener.
Call E.W. Tompkins Plumbing Heating Cooling
for a water analysis. 518-462-6577
