What is a Water Softener?Water softeners are specifically designed to remove minerals like calcium and magnesium that cause hardness in water. These minerals, while essential for health in small quantities, cause many issues when present in high concentrations in your household water supply. Water softeners work by capturing these minerals, effectively reducing the hardness of the water and mitigating problems they cause. This provides homeowners with softer water that is better suited for showering and washing clothes as well as keeping your appliances working optimally.
How a Water Softener works
The mechanism behind water softeners is relatively straightforward. Most systems use a process called ion exchange, where hard water passes through a tank filled with resin beads coated with sodium ions. As the hard water flows over these beads, the calcium and magnesium ions are attracted to and trapped by the resin, exchanging places with the sodium ions. This exchange results in softened water flowing out of the system. Periodically, the water softener will undergo a regeneration cycle where a brine solution flushes the resin beads, removing the trapped minerals and recharging the beads with sodium ions, preparing them for another cycle of softening.