Hard water is hard on your home. No pun intended.
It wreaks havoc on your plumbing, your dishes, your clothes, and even your body.
When you live in an area that has hard water, there’s no “natural” way to fix it. Thankfully, in the early 1900s a chemist named Arthur P. Grosse, figured out an ion exchange process for softening the hard water and a man named Emmett Culligan took that process and revolutionized it for practical domestic use. In 1925 EcoWater’s founder, Lynn G. Lindsay Sr. was issued the first patent for an automatic water softener.
Even though in the past 100 years technology has advanced and systems have become more modernized, the ion exchange process is the same.
Ion Exchange is the most effective way to soften hard water, and in a state like Texas where the hard water rating is moderate to severe, it’s a process we are grateful to have.
What Does An Ion Exchange Do?
In the simplest terms ion exchange water softeners take the hard minerals, like calcium and magnesium in the water and replace them with soft minerals, like sodium (salt).
Why sodium? Salt is harmless to plumbing and other equipment that requires water! Salt is also abundant and cheap.
With softened water, you will minimize and eliminate those issues you’ve been experiencing with dingy looking laundry, mineral buildup in your sink, shower and faucets, dull, dry hair or even dry and itchy skin.
How Does An Ion Exchange Work?
Household water softeners start with two tanks. In some modern units, these two tanks may be combined into a single cabinet.
One tank is the resin tank and one tank is the brine tank.
The Resin Tank
The resin tank holds negatively charged resin beads that are coated in sodium. When the positively charged magnesium and calcium ions in the hard water pass through these beads, the positively charged ions are attracted to the beads and the sodium coating is released into the water. This is the “ion exchange”; the negatively charged ions and the positively charged ions swap places in the water.
TADA! Now your water is softened and is ready to use!
After a while, the sodium in the resin tank becomes depleted and the resin tank is filled with the exchanged magnesium and calcium ions. Therefore a recharge or regeneration is needed to continue the water softening process. That’s where the brine tank comes into play.
The Brine Tank
To remove the calcium and magnesium from the beads, a high concentration sodium solution is released from the brine tank and the ions are exchanged again. This pushes the magnesium and calcium back into the water and then the water is flushed out as waste. Now the resin beads are regenerated and it is now ready for the next water softening cycle!
What Water Softeners DON’T Do
It’s Important to note that water softeners DO NOT filter the water, it simply removes the minerals that make it hard. It does not filter the water.
This is an important difference between softening and filtration systems. Both work hand in hand in providing the cleanest, safest water for your home.
The water softening system is the first step, and then the filtration system (like a reverse osmosis filtration system) will remove and filter out the sodium in the softened water, volatile organic compounds (ex: cyanide, arsenic), nitrates from fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, fluoride, heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, parasites and plastics (PFOS, PFAS – learn more about PFAS in our latest blog “What Is PFAS”).
This is why we always suggest both systems to ensure you’re getting the highest quality water!
Want To Tackle Hard Water For Good? Let EcoWater Texas Install An Ion Exchange Water Softening System Today!
If you’re located in the Dallas/Fort Worth or surrounding areas, we’ve got you covered when it comes to your water purification and filtration needs!
Our top-of-the-line systems ensure you get the best water out of your faucets each time you turn on your tap!
Start with a consultation to discuss which systems will benefit your home the most! Contact us today!
