How Does a Water Softener Work?

Hard water is a pervasive issue in the United States, affecting about 85% of all homes to some degree. While hard water isn’t a health hazard, the high calcium and magnesium content that causes hard water can negatively impact plumbing fixtures. These minerals lead to damaging scale buildup, resulting in clogged pipes and reduced appliance efficiency. Hard water can even cause stains on clothing or dishes and cause dry, brittle skin and hair. Fortunately, installing a water softener system is an effective way to diminish mineral counts in water significantly.

What Is a Water Softener?

A water softener is a type of whole house filtration system comprised of a mineral tank, a brine tank, and a line connecting the two. Using a process called ion exchange, the system helps remove calcium and magnesium from water by swapping sodium for hard water minerals. Other contaminants, like chlorine or chemicals, are not impacted by this process.

What Is Hard Water?

Hard water contains dissolved minerals, including high amounts of calcium and magnesium. Well water tends to be hard since it comes directly from groundwater sources. As water moves through the soil, it absorbs minerals. It is also possible to have hard water from your municipality, as city water sources are generally not softened before reaching your home. To determine if you have hard water, look for these common signs:

• Lingering film on hair or skin after washing
• Difficulty lathering soap
• White, chalky buildup around faucets and showerheads
• Water spots or cloudy residual film on glasses and dishes after washing
• Rough, stiff laundry after washing, even when using laundry detergent
• Slow water flow without any obvious blockages

Water hardness is measured in grains per gallon (gpg). General guidelines classify water hardness as follows:

• Soft Water: Less than 1 gpg
• Slightly Hard Water: 1 to 3 gpg
• Moderately Hard Water: 3 to 7 gpg
• Hard Water: 7 to 10 gpg
• Very Hard Water: 10 to 14 gpg
• Extremely Hard Water: More than 15 gpg

The vast majority of US households experience hard water. You’re more likely to have hard water in some areas of the country than others.

If your water comes from your municipality, you can learn more about how hard your water is in the annual water quality report your city puts out every year. To accurately measure how hard or soft your well water is, purchase a water test and survey kit.

How Does a Water Softener Work?

As mentioned, water softeners use a process called ion exchange to “soften” water, or significantly reduce calcium and magnesium mineral levels. During this process, hard water passes through the water softener tank, which is filled with sodium ion-coated resin beads. The sodium ion-coated resin beads essentially swap ions with the calcium and magnesium minerals, largely preventing them from continuing through to plumbing fixtures and appliances.

Eventually, the water softener’s resin beads become saturated with calcium and magnesium ions. When this happens, a brine solution of sodium chloride and water flushes through the main water softener tank to displace calcium and magnesium ions. This process recharges resin beads with sodium, allowing ion exchange to continue. Regeneration frequency is different for every homeowner since it depends on water usage and the water softener’s grain capacity.

Learn more about choosing the right water softener for your home.
Kind Water Systems helps make this process easier for customers with our Smart Controller. Using the mobile application, customers can regenerate or backwash their softeners, view water usage, and optimize performance all in the palm of their hands.

Water softener owners will also need to replenish salt in their brine tank when levels are low. To check if your brine tank is low on salt, simply open the lid. If you see water, add salt pellets roughly halfway up the tank. Depending on your water usage, this process should only be necessary every couple of months.

Types of Water Softeners

Ion exchange water softeners have been used to combat hard water and reduce scale-causing minerals for almost 100 years. Salt-based solutions like Kind Water Systems’s Smart Metered Water Softener and Smart Metered Tannin Water Softener use sodium chloride pellets to complete ion exchange. Potassium-based solutions use potassium chloride for these processes. The main difference between these systems is cost. Potassium-based water softeners are generally more expensive than traditional sodium chloride water softener systems due to potassium chloride costs and refilling frequency.

While sodium chloride water softeners don’t significantly impact salt content in water, customers who are concerned about sodium intake can use a reverse osmosis system at each point of use like kitchen faucets or other locations where drinking water is common to limit sodium.

Water Softener Benefits

Water softeners offer homeowners several practical and personal advantages. These whole house filtration systems help maintain efficient plumbing fixtures and appliances by reducing hard water mineral scale. With fewer minerals in water, soaps and detergents are also more effective while skin and hair may feel smoother. Kind Water Systems’s water softeners also use 70% less salt than other comparable options thanks to Smart Controller technology and can help homeowners save up to 40% on energy costs.