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For the most part, softeners are pretty simple. Softening water works by exchanging positively charged ions with sodium ions. Because softeners backwash periodically to recharge, they have a timer (and sometimes a meter) to control when this happens. One of the problems with a mechanical unit is when the power goes out, the time freezes, and just picks up ...

Basically, water softeners contain a filter with a chemical that attracts positive ions (like the alkali metals calcium and magnesium). The filter is originally "charged" with sodium ions using the salt you put in the bin. Run hard water through it, and the calcium and magnesium compounds (mostly carbonates) are converted to sodium carbonate, which doesn't ...

I'm not sure if "waste" is the correct term. They need to backwash some water through them in order to remove the hard materials ("regenerate") they have removed from your water; it's a necessary evil of the process. It is however not just running water for the sake of it. How often this process runs will depend on how much water you use and how hard your ...

Sounds like classic symptoms of hard water. Others: Spotty dishes, clothes that don't seem to get clean without using a lot of detergent. Soap doesn't get very "sudsy" when you get it wet. Soap scum on your bathtub. Buildup of mineral-like crust on shower-heads. Water softener heating element failure. You are very likely going to need a water ...

It controls the weight of the salt that is used. Potassium has a higher atomic weight than sodium, but they play the same role in the ion exchange reaction in the softener, so you need a greater weight of KCl to achieve the same level of softening. Potassium chloride has a molecular weight of 74.55, whereas Sodium chloride has one of 58.44, so in theory ...

I did some significant research on water softeners a few years ago. I did not find numbers for exactly how much water they use when the regenerate. However, there are multiple systems to determine when they regenerate. This can make a big difference on how much water is used. The simplest and cheapest models just have a timer for when they regenerate. ...

The lucklihood is that it will reduce the pressure throughout the house significantly, especially if more than one faucet is running at once. It is also possible that the softener might not work correclty due to the reduced pressure, or that the output pressure will be even less than expected. I would think that hard water for a couple extra days would ...

You can easily calculate how often regeneration will be necessary if you know how hard your water is. If you are using city water, they should be able to tell you otherwise there are kits you can use to test your water. And any softener salesman should test your water as part of sizing your system. In my area, the hardness is measured in grains per gallon ...

That series was sold with and without a carbon filtering system which makes it a little harder to described. If you have a carbon filtering system (there's is called a "HYgene Bacteriostatic Filter Media" containing Silver Impregnated Activated Carbon) which is the more typically and suggested unless you have well water, the manufacturer suggests replacing ...

Yes, it will reduce the water flow. For a couple of days, everything will survive, either way. If you do this restriction, then yes, the toilet will fill more slowly for a few days, showers will not be so forceful. Or you can suffer with hard water for a couple more days. I'd offer the alternatives to the tired household occupant who is pushing for this to ...

You should get a water softener as soon as possible. The same thing that is happening to your faucet spreaders, shower heads and dishwasher jets is also happening to your pipes, only it will be much harder and more expensive to fix them.

I've worked on software with water conditioning companies all over North America for the past 10 years, so I have a pretty good understanding of the business. My advice is to talk to several companies in your area about what they recommend. There are tons of dealers out there who can help you. They know the water in your area and the equipment best suited ...

There are several types of regeneration options. Onet thing I would recommend is getting a metered softener rather than a strictly timer option. The metered softener regenerates at a certain time of the day when enough water has passed through it to need regenerated. You will need to have your water tested to determine the hardness and iron levels. These ...