Does the water in a water softener

[Margo out of lurking]

really pass THROUGH the salt, over the salt?

 

I feel so stupid asking this question. I've googled water softeners until my eyes have crossed, but I can't seem to find the answer. I know the water is softened through an exchange of ions--but does it actually go through the salt (and if so, why isn't the water nasty-salty afterwards)?

[angela in ohio]

(duplicate post)

Edited October 11, 2010 by angela in ohio

[angela in ohio]

I am no expert, but here's how the Culligan man (patiently) explained it to me:

 

There are things (beads or something like that?) in the smaller tank, and the water we get from the tap passes through those to be cleaned. Each night, when it makes all that noise, the beads or whatever are rinsed by the brine water from the big tank, so that they are fresh and ready to do their job the next day.

[RegGuheert]

I am no expert, but here's how the Culligan man (patiently) explained it to me:

 

There are things (crystals, beads, something like that?) in the smaller tak, and the water we get from the tap passes through those to be cleaned. each night, when it makes all that noise, the beads or whatever are rinsed by the brine water from the big tank, so that they are fresh and ready to do their job the next day,.

That's a good explanation. Most modern softeners do not regenerate (wash the beads) each night, but rather do it only once a certain amount of water has been softened.

 

Note that while house water is not pumped directly through the salt there will always be a small amount of residual salt in the beads after rinsing. Our current softener never leaves enough that we can taste it, but it might be a concern to someone who is extremely sensitive to salt or sodium.

 

Finally, I will note that the brine is pumped to waste, so if you have a septic system, it will go there. Over the course of a couple of decades it is amazing how much of the concrete in your septic tank and distribution box gets eaten away by the brine solution from the water softener. Hopefully the new ones are not as bad as the old ones were.

Edited October 11, 2010 by RegGuheert

[DarlaS]

Mine has some kind of mesh resin in it (I *think* it looks like a loofah sponge) that is ionically charged to gather the minerals from the water. This removal of minerals, mainly calcium ions, "softens" the water. The purpose of salt is to clean/recharge this resin. At least that's how the Rainsoft guy explained it to us (but that was almost 17 years ago:tongue_smilie:).

[DarlaS]

Finally, I will note that the brine is pumped to waste, so if you have a septic system, it will go there. Over the course of a couple of decades it is amazing how much of the concrete in your septic tank and distribution box gets eaten away by the brine solution from the water softener. Hopefully the new ones are not as bad as the old ones were.

 

Ours does not go into our septic tank. It's possible that some areas might require that, but if they don't, you can just discharge it directly outside somewhere.

 

Our basement is below the water table, so we have a sump pump that runs a few times a day and empties into a little drainage ditch that runs between the house and some nearby trees. For years, our softener discharged into the sump pump's basin. This destroys pumps as you can imagine. My husband bypassed it recently, and it just goes out into the ditch directly now. It's a nuisance to mow around this ditch, but it beats replacing the septic tank.