Best water softeners use salt to remove the minerals and other impurities from hard water. This is the way that top water conditioners use salt.
Change of Ions
It is a salt-based system that uses ions to soften water and remove calcium, magnesium, and other minerals. The system converts mineral-containing water into sodium ions, which are scale resistant. A water softener uses resin beads to trap the water, making it mineral free after treatment with sodium. A certain threshold will trigger a system regeneration, in which the resin beads are flooded with salt water. Salt water is used to flush out minerals and restore the resin’s ability to change ions.
Comparison and contrast of salty vs. salt-free
There are two options: water softeners that use salt, and those without. These systems relying on salt are called salt-based, while others that do not use salt, such as those using magnetic fields or carbon filtration, rely instead on alternative methods. In order to avoid scale, the systems without salt are less effective than those with salt. This is because salt free systems don’t remove mineral deposits from water.
Different Salts
The water softeners are available in three different options: rock salt (also known as solar salt), evaporated salt and evaporated salt. Rock salt could damage the resin in softeners due to contaminants. This makes this alternative less appealing. A purer sodium chloride can be produced by exposing saltwater to sunlight.
Use of Sea Salt
Salt consumption by water softeners is proportional with the size of the unit, the hardness level of the water and the frequency at which the cycle is repeated. When the recommended amount of salt is depleted, it should be refilled. Be sure to keep an eye out for the amount of salt. Also, give your water softener one last look-over.