What is Water Softener?
A water softener reduces the dissolved calcium, magnesium, and to some degree manganese and ferrous iron ion concentration in hard water. (A common water softener is sodium carbonate; forumula Na2CO3.) These “hardness ions” cause three major kinds of undesired effects. Most visibly, metal ions react with soaps and calcium-sensitive detergents, hindering their ability to lather and forming a precipitate—the familiar “bathtub ring”. Presence of “hardness ions” also inhibits the cleaning effect of detergent formulations. Second, calcium and magnesium carbonates tend to precipitate out as hard deposits to the surfaces of pipes and heat exchanger surfaces. This is principally caused by thermal decomposition of bi-carbonate ions but also happens to some extent even in the absence of such ions. The resulting build-up of scale can restrict water flow in pipes. In boilers, the deposits act as an insulation that impairs the flow of heat into water, reducing the heating efficiency and allowing th
A water softener is an appliance that uses sodium chloride, also known as salt, to treat hard water. Hard water contains an excess of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, manganese and iron that can be an expensive nuisance for your home. These minerals are taken up in the underground water supply and, as the water is heated in your home, they crystallize and stubbornly stick to household surfaces. Sodium chloride, the effective component of water softener, works to replace these unwanted minerals. A water softener is a fairly simple appliance that is stocked with salt. The water supply passes through the water softener over resin beds, rows of specialized beads that perform an ion-exchange. The resin beds chemically attract the unwanted ‘hard’ mineral ions and exchange them with soft, harmless sodium ions. When the resin beds become saturated with the minerals, the water softener flushes them out with a salt solution called brine and the process begins again. A water softener is easy
A water softener reduces the calcium or magnesium ion concentration in hard water. water softener kills “hardness ions” that cause two major kinds of problems. Conventional water softener devices intended for household use depend on an ion-exchange resin in which water softener “hardness” ions trade places with sodium ions that are electrostatically bound to the anionic functional groups of the polymeric resin. A water softener class of minerals known as zeolites also exhibits ion-exchange properties; these water softener were widely used in earlier water softeners. water softener are typically used when water is supplied from wells.
water softeners work by a process called ion exchange. A resin is bathed is a sodium Solution or potassium solution. Once it is charged the calcium carbonate an or mag anise molecules are exchanged for salt, removing what is called hardness in your water.This hardness in your water is what leaves water spots on your glasses, and crusty white deposits on you faucets.
A simpler answer. A softener removes the minerals that cause hardness. It will only hold so much then it regenerates for approx 2.5 hours. It should be set to regenerate after 1am . It goes into bypass during the regeneration and would add hard water to your water heater if is used. You are not usually going to use hot water at that time of day. Very little sodium remains in the water because the majority of the regeneration time is used to flush out the sodium. The size of the softener is determined by the grains of hardness you have.
