To protect against hard water, many homes have a home water softener installed. They may seem difficult to operate and maintain. However, in reality, using a home water softener is quite easy. If you are new to this kind of machine, simply follow the steps below to learn how to operate one.
The first thing you will need to do is pour water into the brine tank. The amount of water you will pour in will be determined by the size and make of your home water softener. To figure out exactly how much water to pour, check the manual that came with the water softener. If you can't find it, check the manufacturer's website for information.
The next thing you should do is decide whether you want to use salt based pellets or potassium based pellets. Both have their benefits. Most people use salt. However, potassium may be beneficial if you have family members on salt restricted diets. Both should be sold at most home improvement stores.
If you use salt, fill the brine tank with as much pellets as suggested by the owner's manual. However, if you use potassium pellets, only pour in one bag at a time. Potassium pellets can sometimes cause a "bridge" to develop on top of the water level that could negatively impact the water's ability to soften.
Most water softeners come with electronic control panels. If your water softener does have one, use it to set the date and time. After that, you will need to select the right water hardness level. You can find the number for this level by testing the water's hardness. The machine may come with a testing mechanism. If not, you can purchase a water hardness testing kit at most hardware stores.
Lastly, you'll need to use the unit's control panel to choose when your water softener recharges. The best time to recharge it is when no one will be running water. As such, most people who own home water softeners set them to recharge during late at night. If you are awake while the machine is recharging, make sure to not run any hot water until it is finished.
Yes. Water softeners are safe to use in the home. They will add a little bit of sodium to your drinking water, but really not enough to worry about (i.e. a lot less than you're getting from your food anyway).
yes
Saltless water softeners are a great investment and can actually work to make water more healthy, which is an important aspect of these water softeners. If you are going to make the investment in a new water heater, it is wise to know the advantages that saltless water softeners have over regular water softeners. The most obvious advantage is that they do not add any more sodium to the water than what is already there. This is an extremely important consideration if you are a diabetic or have someone in your home who is. These water softeners can be found in all of the same locations of your average water softener and are a much better investment.
You can get water softeners from culligan.com. I have a shower water softener from their company. It really helps to make my hair softer and skin better each time I use it in the shower.
Yes, there is a difference between water softeners and water purification systems as water softeners merely filter the water whereas water purification systems actually filter and cleanse the water.
Salt-free water softeners, or descalers, are usually available in the same places one would purchase regular water softeners. Descalers work differently than salt softeners in that they use electromagnetic pulses to break up the crystals that form in hard water.
Yes sodium chloride may be used in water softeners.
Different water softeners use different grades of salt, so check with a water softener supplier. - Most non-electric, twin-cylinder water softeners for homes use block salt. - Most electric, single-cylinder water softeners for homes use tablet salt (also know as pebbles or pillows), although some use granular salt. - Most commercial water softeners use granular salt, although some very large ones have special brine tanks to take PDV (fine) salt. Julian Hobday of KindWater
No, calcite (calcium carbonate, in the form of "lime scale") is what water softeners are supposed to reduce.
Water softeners are to "soften" the taste of tap waters. Oftentimes certain areas have "hard" tap water that is mildly bitter and/or acidic and is not very good. Water softeners can be bought at any hardware store.
Sodium Chlorine and Potassium Chloride are two chemicals found in water softeners.
Culligan offers a salt free water softener ("water conditioners" or "descalers") as does Sears/Kenmore and Pelican Water Systems. You can also find salt free water softeners at Home Depot, eBay, and Amazon.