While both can be used to prevent limescale buildup and hard water damage to plumbing and appliances, water softeners offer additional benefits beyond scale prevention. Some homes may be more suited to a water conditioner than a water softener, and others may need to reap the benefits a water softener provides.
Remember that water conditioners are installed to stop build-up in plumbing, not soften your water. Their effectiveness ranges greatly, depending on which technology they are built upon.
One thing you should not consider is using both systems. Using a water conditioner before a water softener will change the hardness particles making the ion-exchange in a water softener ineffective.
Conditioners, as opposed to traditional water softeners, do not actually remove mineral ions, but they do prevent those ions from building up around the insides of pipes, on the heating element, nozzles, and plumbing fixtures. This solves one of the major problems hard water presents without adding salt.
A whole-house filtration system removes pollutants and contaminants from water. If you have a water softener but no filtration system, you'll have removed the minerals from your water, but you still may be drinking, cooking and bathing in contaminants and chemicals like: Bacteria. Heavy metals.
Water conditioners are designed to prevent limescale buildup by crystallizing calcium and magnesium, but they do not remove these minerals, meaning their effects outside of plumbing preservation remain. Only using a water softener provides the benefits that soft water can provide.
We think that water descalers are by far the best choice. First of all, they provide the same benefits as a water softener without the downsides. Instead of replacing calcium and magnesium with sodium, a water descaler simply reshapes the crystals to make them less adherent.
Disadvantages of home water softening
Can corrode your pipes. The corroded metal from the pipes can end up in your water. This can contribute to elevated lead and copper levels in drinking water. Potential health effects from additional sodium.
Efficient softeners may regenerate daily while others do so two to three times a week. Others still (particularly older units) can regenerate as little as once weekly. This process is key to ensuring that your softener functions properly and provides your home with adequate water.
Unpleasant taste, smell, and color of your household water might propel you toward a water conditioning system. If hard water is just the start of your water woes and a metallic taste, rust stains, or green staining are also an issue, an Evolve water conditioner can help improve your water while saving you money.
Depending on the product and its ingredients, too much conditioner can kill your fish. Oftentimes it would take dumping the entire bottle into the water to kill them. At the very least, however, they can get sick or become lethargic. This is because it does have the potential to increase the instance of algae.
Soften your kitchen water by boiling: Boiling will make the salts in water sink to the bottom of the boiler. You can then scoop out this water or pour the water in another pot leaving the deposits in the end. Install an ion-exchange filter to your kitchen faucet or use a water pitcher filter.
USING BAKING SODA OR VINEGAR
Baking soda is alkaline, while vinegar is acidic. Baking soda and vinegar are both natural disinfectants that can be used to turn hard water to soft water. They eliminate the scaly coating that occurs in hard water as a result of mineral deposits.
A water softener has a lifespan, just like any other appliance. With regular care and maintenance, including cleaning the device's brine tank once a year, a water softening system can last up to 15 years.
By installing a water softener you'll actually be able to use less soap as it increases in effectiveness. Your hair, skin, and clothes will feel softer and look brighter. Your dishes, sinks, and tubs will be shiny and clean.
If you test the water, you'll likely find that the pH is high (alkaline). In these cases, treating the water with conditioners will often resolve the problem. Another option, which has many benefits beyond resolving cloudy water, is to use RO (Reverse Osmosis) water.
Since soft water contains very few dissolved minerals, it tends to leach minerals off other surfaces, including your metal plumbing pipes. This can result in pitting and pinhole leaks in metal plumbing pipes.
Pro: Nicer laundry, skin, and hair
“After using a water softener, the brightness of your clothes will stay intact longer, your skin will be softer, and you will use less soap, as soft water will not dilute as much,” says Rodriguez. Hard water can create build up on your hair and make it look dry and brittle.
There are some precautions you may have to take, however, and in some cases soft water can harm portions of the plumbing system. The minerals of calcium and magnesium carbonates tend to attach and stick to the surfaces of pipes and water heats, resulting in scale buildup, which restricts water flow in pipes.
Can a Water Softener Work Without Salt? Typical water softening systems need salt in order to regenerate and produce soft water. Without sodium, the softener can no longer effectively remove calcium and magnesium from your water, allowing hard water back into your pipes and home.
A salt-free water softener does not exist.
The ion exchange process used by water softeners doesn't work without the sodium ions displacing the calcium and magnesium ions that create water hardness.
If your home doesn't have hard water, you don't need a water softener—but a shower head water filter helps ensure you bathe in the freshest, cleanest water possible. If your home has hard water, using a water softener and a water filter can help protect your skin health while bathing.