Water Softening and Your Health

What a water softener does?

Water softening is the process that treats hard water through a method known as ion exchange. A softener reduces calcium, magnesium, manganese and ferrous iron ion from hard water.

What hardness ions cause?

It causes three major undesired effects:

1 – Metal ions react with soaps and calcium-sensitive detergents and inhibit the cleaning effect of detergents.

2 – Calcium and magnesium carbonates precipitate out as hard deposits to the surfaces of pipes and heat exchanger surfaces which result in scale buildups on pipes.

Calcium buildups restrict water flow in the pipes, consequently, the buildups reduces the heating efficiency of a water heater, which also increase the cost of energy.

3 – The presence of ions in an electrolyte in hard water accelerates corrosion in metal pipes.

Facts about softeners:

2 – Most of the salts used for regeneration get flushed out of the system and may be released into the soil or sewer.

3 – Water and salt discharged from water softening system can be damaging to the environment, especially in arid regions.

4 – When the effluent is discharged during in admixture with domestic sewage, the calcium and magnesium salts may precipitate out as hardness scale on the inside of the discharge pipe.

5 – In residential or small commercial softeners, salt bridges and salt cakes can easily occur if no routine maintenance is performed.

6 – Effects of sodium: for people o a low-sodium diet, the increase in sodium levels in the water can be significant, especially when treating very hard water.

7 – Water with high level of salt or above 1,000 mg/l is likely not to be used in irrigation and industrial customers.

8 – The more salt contains in the water, the less effective laundry detergents will be and plumbing fixtures and home appliances wear out faster and industry incurs higher treatment costs for water heaters.

9 – Water softener must clean itself weekly, the process is called regeneration and when it does, the system use and disposes over a hundred gallons of water. The maintenance greatly increases water monthly bill.

Pros and cons of water softening:

Water softening process reduce hardness of the water which benefits customers in reducing the amount of soap and detergents usage.

Soften water also reduces staining, spotting, scaling and helps with energy saving in water heating due to less scaling.

Helps remove minerals such as: magnesium and calcium from hard water, it removes the positive ions of these two minerals.

Cons:

Soft water is not healthy or desirable for drinking or cooking.

As universal solvent, water dissolves most materials, especially metals which are partially soluble in water.

So, if water is heated or softened, it becomes more aggressive at leaching metals from water lines.

Lead in soldered joints and copper in pipes and faucets are vulnerable, not to mention your health risks due to the presence of such metals in the water.

Soft water is aggressive at leaching meals, such as: lead, from faucets.

Softeners can increase sodium intake which is not good for people who lives on a diet with low sodium.

Benefits water softening systems:

1 – Over time, magnesium and calcium in hard water can clog pipes and fixtures, the softening process prevent that in some degree from happening.

2 – Hard water can cause deposits of lime scales in household water heating units. This reduces their efficiency and increase heating costs.

**Lime scale deposits can also affect the proper functioning of water-based appliances, such as, laundry machines and dishwashers. Hard water reduces the lifespan of such appliances.

3 – Some softeners remove iron and fluoride from hard water, which improves the water taste.

4 – Soft water requires less amount of cleaning products such as soap and detergent.

5 – Soft water has a conditioning affect on clothes, hair and skin. Soft water can help people who suffer from dry skin or dandruff.

In short:

The systems descharge water in sewage plants and water streams, such practice has been proven to cause harm to the environment and, therefore, it has been banned in over 35 states, including cities and counties.

In the end, it is your choice to decide you want to install a water softening system in your home or not.

Make sure to check laws that are currently in your city, county and state concerning water softeners.

It is your decision to do what you want and, this site is in no way responsible or liable for anything. The information contained here are for informational purpose only.

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