Salt Vs. Salt Free Water Softening Systems

Is one option more practical than the other? Here's some useful information to help you distinguish between salt-based and salt-free water softening systems, enabling you to make an informed choice that benefits your household, your home, and the environment.

 

How the salt based system works:

Water softening operates through an ion exchange process that removes calcium (Ca²⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) from water. This is achieved using a polymer resin bed that releases sodium particles in exchange for these hardness minerals.

 

The system performs effectively.

 

Once the resin bed reaches its saturation point, the system is designed to automatically flush the accumulated particles. These collected minerals are then discharged through the drain lines.

 

How the non-salt based system works:

In this method, minerals remain in the water but are structurally altered to prevent them from adhering to surfaces. The water is treated by passing through a catalytic medium using a physical method known as Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC). This is technically considered water conditioning rather than softening.

 

If you test water processed by both systems, here's what you'll find:

With the salt-based system, water that started with 10 grains of hardness will measure 0 grains after treatment.

In contrast, water treated by the salt-free system will still show 10 grains of hardness after processing.

This highlights the key distinction: true softening versus conditioning.

 

It's important to note, however, that the salt-free system primarily functions as a descaling solution. The hardness minerals are not removed from the water and will continue to accumulate somewhere within your household plumbing.

 

At Home with a Salt-Free Softener

Our personal environment starts at home, where each of us uses about 50 gallons of water daily. It's worth noting that our drinking water naturally contains very little sodium. While a water softening system does introduce trace amounts of additional sodium, the quantity depends directly on your water's hardness level-the harder the water, the more sodium is needed to counteract the calcium and magnesium.

 

According to an EPA survey, most water systems contain fewer than 50 mg of sodium per liter. Based on this data, an 8-ounce glass of softened water would contain less than 12.5 mg of sodium, which meets the Food and Drug Administration's standard for "very low sodium" content.