What is the difference between a water softener and a tap water filter?
Water softeners are usually plumbed into the mains water system and are used to remove temporary hardness from the water to prevent limescale build up in plumbed in household appliances, central heating systems, showerheads etc. Water softeners do use a form of ion exchange resin but this is regenerated using common salt (sodium chloride), which is added to the softener regularly. In this way the calcium ions in the temporary hardness are replaced with sodium ions, thereby increasing the sodium content of the water. Due to the increased sodium it is not recommended that sodium softened water is used for drinking, cooking or food preparation. A separate tap with untreated water should be provided.
