Water Softeners

The idea of a water softener is simple. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium ions. Since sodium doe not penetrate out in pipes or react badly with soap, both of the problems of hard water are eliminated. To do the ion replacement, the water in the house runs through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical matrix called Zeolite. The beads of Zeolite are covered with sodium ions. As the water flows past the sodium ions, they swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions. Eventually, the beads or Zeolite contain nothing but calcium and magnesium and no sodium, at this point they stop softening the water. It is then time to regenerate the beads of Zeolite.

Regeneration involves soaking the beads or Zeolite in a stream of sodium ions. Salt is Sodium Chloride, so the water softener mixes up a very strong brine solution and flushes it through the Zeolite or beads (this is why you load up a water softener with salt). The strong brine displaces all the calcium and magnesium that has built up in the Zeolite or beads and replaces it again with sodium. The remaining brine plus all the calcium and magnesium is flushed out through a drainpipe. Regeneration can create a lot of salty water- something like 25 gallons (95 litres).