How does a water softener work?
The idea behind a water softener is simple. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with ions of salt (either sodium or potassium). Salts do not precipitate out in pipes or react badly with soap, eliminated the hard water problem. Water softeners are specific ion exchangers that are designed to remove ions, mainly positively charged calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions. A water softener collects hardness minerals within its conditioning tank and from time to time flushes them away. Softeners are also able to remove up to 5 ppm (mg/L) of clear water (dissolved) iron. The water enters the house and passes through a bed of small plastic resign beads. The resign beads are covered with salt ions. As the water flows past the salt ions, they are exchanged with the calcium and magnesium ions. Eventually, the resign beads contain nothing but calcium and magnesium and no longer soften the water. Then it is time to regenerate the resign beads. Regeneration involves soaking th
Service Service is when the softener is providing soft water. Hard water comes from the main water pipe into the softener. Inside the softener resin tank there are thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads. As hard water passes through these beads, each bead attracts hardness minerals. This process is referred to as ion-exchanging. Water without the hardness minerals flows out of the softener and into the house as soft water. After a period of time, the resin beads need to be cleaned because they have been coated with hardness materials. This cleaning is called regeneration or recharge. The timer on a water softener is usually set so that it starts regeneration early in the morning. There are five cycles that regeneration consists of: Fill, Brining, Brine Rinse, Backwash, and Fast Rinse. Fill Salt that is dissolved into water is called brine. Brine is needed to clean the resin beads free from hardness. To make brine, water flows into the salt storage tank during the fill stage. The fill c
A water softener works on the cation exchange process. Hard water enters the softener system. As the water passes over the resin in the tank, the dissolved hard water minerals (calcium and magnesium) are attracted to the resin. Once these minerals are removed, the soft water is introduced into the home water supply.
Softening water is a 4-step process. • The body of a water softener is a tank filled with resin beads. These beads are covered with sodium ions. As hard water passes through, the resin beads act like a magnet, attracting the calcium and magnesium ions (hardness) in exchange for the sodium ions. • Eventually the resin beads become saturated with mineral ions and have to be “re-charged.” This process is called regeneration, and is conducted by the control valve on the top of the tank. The control valve is the brain of the system. • During regeneration, a strong brine solution is flushed through the resin tank, bathing the resin beads in a stream of sodium ions which replace the accumulated calcium and magnesium ions (hardness). • The brine solution, carrying the displaced calcium and magnesium ions, is then flushed down the drain by freshwater. The regenerated resin beads can be used again and again. FYI: Hard water measures from 1 gpg to well in excess of 100 gpg. The Environmental Prot
A water softener works by replacing the hardness in your water with either sodium or potassium. Their are two types of softeners. Demand and Timer models. The difference between demand and timers: A demand recycles depending on how much water you use. A timer recycles at a specified time. For more water softener information feel free to give us a call.
