Calcium in pipes? (plumbing)

RobS · Jan 25, 2001

I'm hardly an expert here, but the salt used in a water softener does not go directly into the house water supply. When the unit recharges, the salt water solution (insert a whole bunch of chemical-ese including the words "ion exchange" here) is drawn into the softener unit. This brine solution reacts with the materials in the softener chamber (more chemical-ese here) to draw out the minerals and whatever else it removes. Final step is to flush the softener chamber with fresh water. Now the chamber is ready to accept household water where it will draw out more minerals and stuff. Some salt will likely remain to mix with your water, but the amounts should be small. There is probably more a water softener WON'T take out than what it will (ie. iron and a whole multitude of other minerals). I learned this some time ago from a softener guy but don't remember many of the details. We do have a softener in our house.

The bigger issue with softeners is that all the recharge and flush water goes right into the septic system. I've heard it's not good for the organisms munching away on your "stuff" in there, but we've not had any problems. Our softener only recharges on demand so it may not run as often as one on a simple timer.

There's probably a water softener-by-net out there somewhere to get better answers to these questions/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Rob

cowboydoc · Jan 25, 2001

Richard,
I'm not sure. I don't even know how the whole thing works. I will ask him again the whole theory behind it. Actually as far as eligible name goes in Iowa you have to sign your name and orders or prescription now so that it can legible or your malpractice won't cover. Too many mistakes trying to decipher the writing.

ronjhall · Jan 25, 2001

I have heard about putting the magnets on water line. But don't know anybody that has done it. All my water lines are plastic up to the whole house filters. Where would they have to be installed.

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ronjhall · Jan 25, 2001

RobS I'm not an expert but did do a lot of research before I bought my last system. Now I wish I had saved all the URL's that I looked at.There is just a trace, but all the companies that install softeners let people know incase there is somebody in the house that has a problem with salt.
I have piped my softener to a seperate line that feeds out to a tank buried underground. This way all the water used for regeneration (50 to 60 gallons) does not go into my spetic system.

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RJohnson · Jan 25, 2001

Rob,
You are right on about salt in the septic system. It is very dependent upon the type of soil you have in your leach field. Clay soils tend to bind up sooner with salt. You might check out this site for more information: http://www.swopnet.com/engr/Septic_Tanks/Gayman_Septic_Probs.html

Randy

WVBill · Jan 26, 2001

Another solution to concerns about salt (sodium) from a water softener (both in the house water and in the brine flush) is to use Potassium Chloride instead of Sodium Chloride. That's what I use. I get it at Wal Mart. One thing to make sure if you install a softener is that your outside faucets are plumbed in line BEFORE the softener. If not, your garden/grass watering will cause the softener to regenerate much more often than necessary (if you have a demand regeneration system).

WVBill