If you have hard water in your home, then you may be concerned about the calcium and other hard minerals that build in your pipes and on your bathtub. A water softener can definitely help to remove the minerals from your water. However, many varieties use salt. If you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or chronic kidney disease, then you may be worried about adding sodium to your diet. Generally speaking, most water softeners will only add about 28 milligrams of sodium per eight ounces. In comparison, there are 170 milligrams of sodium in one piece of white bread. However, if sodium control is extremely important to your health, then consider one of the following water softening options.
Salt-Free Device
In many water softeners, salt is initially absorbed by the small beads that sit in the main compartment of the water softener. When the beads come into contact with the hard water, the salt is released from the beads and the minerals then attach to them in place of the salt. However, sodium chloride is not the only type of material that can be used with beads to interact with minerals.
Potassium chloride can be used as well, and this material is often placed in water softeners called salt-free devices. However, the potassium chloride does not change places with the minerals. The potassium chloride is instead released from the beads and it attaches to the minerals. The calcium and other substances then sit in the water, but they are unable to stick to the surfaces they come into contact with. This helps to solve your scale build up problems. Keep in mind that these devices are often called descalers if you go to purchase one from your local home store.
Reverse Osmosis Softener
Reverse osmosis water softeners are good devices to invest in if you want all of the contaminants, metals, calcium, and other minerals removed from the water in your home. These devices use a series of different channels or chambers where water is passed through. Each canister or container will hold a semipermeable membrane. This membrane allows clean and pure water to pass through while contaminants are held back. The clean water is then passed through to your water pipes. The contaminated water may be released and passed through your drainage system, or it will be recycled and used inside the reverse osmosis system again.
Once your water is filtered, you can expect it to be over 99% free of contaminants. These contaminants include bacteria and viruses. You should understand though that reverse osmosis water softener systems are likely to be more expensive than other varieties. However, only periodic maintenance will need to be performed to clean the membranes. Also, a cleaning solution will need to be placed through the system occasionally to help reduce the build up of minerals.
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