Does the stuff inside the metal water softener cannister get into the water?

Answer 1

Answer .... it is not supposed to get into the water. The "stuff" inside most water softeners consists of small brown or tan plastic beads around the size of grains of sand. (although some softeners use white beads, crystals or kitty-litter like material as well) The beads themselves are supposed to stay in the tank. When hard water flows past these beads, the calcium and magnesium ions in the water (the stuff that makes hard water hard) are attracted to and stick to the beads. The water keeps of flowing and comes out the other end of the water softener without all (or most) of the calcium and magnesium, so now the water is soft water. Sometimes water softeners can break internal components and/or some of the beads can break into smaller particles as they age and some of these beads can ge swept up into the water - this can cause real problems - the beads can clog Plumbing and faucet aereator screens - and worse. If you see brown "sand" in your sinks and/or toilets it is (past) time to have your water softener repaired or replaced.