Does a water softener make water less saline?
No, water softeners exchanges sodium (or potassium) ions for calcium or magnesium ions, but the total measurement of TDS does not change. Therefore, water softeners only make hard water softer. How do water softeners work? The typical water softener has two parts: a mineral tank and a brine tank. The mineral tank is filled with small polystyrene beads, also known as resin or zeolite. 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. The brine tank is filled with a brine solution created by adding common salt (sodium) to water. Like calcium and magnesium, sodium ions have positive charges, although not as strong as the charge on the calcium and magnesium. In normal operation, hard water moves into the mineral tank and the calcium and magnesium ions move to the beads, replacing sodium ions on the beads. The sodium ions go into the water. O
