Are all water softeners created equal?
Household water is not created equal. Water that has soaked through the earth picks up a number of elements that can change its taste and color, compromise its safety, alter its feel (make it slippery), reduce its capacity to wash, and may even clog up your home’s plumbing. Water with high concentrations of minerals like calcium and magnesium is called “hard.” Water softeners neutralize the minerals by exchanging them with sodium that comes from a saltwater brine. Though a relatively simple process, it requires a complex apparatus that houses the little beads that make up the salt water exchange medium and flush the medium when it has become saturated with the minerals you are trying to remove.
