What are the components of a water softener?
A water softener consists of three parts: a control valve, a mineral tank, and a brine tank. Together, these three components remove metals from hard water, control water flow, and clean the system regularly through regeneration.
How does a water softener regenerate?
In the regeneration cycle, the resin beads are filled with a highly concentrated salt solution that removes hard metals and clears them from the system. The carbide beads are refilled and prepared for carbide removal. The resin beads are extremely durable and can effectively remove hard water for more than 20 years. The water softener can be regenerated in two ways: simultaneous regeneration and counterflow regeneration (also known as brine regeneration or salt regeneration).
What does the air dryer remove?
A water softener first removes calcium and magnesium ions from hard water. Calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) are the metals that cause hard water. Positively charged ions (also known as cations) are also removed by the ion exchange process as they are attracted to them. This can also include other metals such as iron and manganese.
Is fresh water safe to drink?
Fresh water is safe to drink. During the ion exchange process, when resin beads trap hard minerals, they release sodium into the water. However, the sodium content of softened water is not harmful and is in fact much lower than is commonly thought. If your water has an average hardness of, say, 5 grains per gallon (about 86 ppm), you are adding only 37 milligrams of sodium per gallon.
That’s less than 2% of your recommended daily intake of sodium. A slice of white bread contains about 170 milligrams of sodium and a slice of pizza contains about 640 milligrams of sodium. Therefore, the sodium content of a dehydrator is negligible in comparison.
The amount of sodium added to the dehydrator is linearly related to the amount of hardness-reducing minerals. The dehydrator removes 2 milligrams of sodium per milligram of water hardness. This is only a problem if you live in an area with very hard water. If your water hardness exceeds 400 ppm, you will need to install a reverse osmosis system in your home to purify the water you use for drinking and cooking.
A reverse osmosis system passes water through a semi-permeable membrane that can remove almost all dissolved solids and salts from the water. If you have blood pressure or kidney problems and have been advised by your doctor to limit your sodium intake, a reverse osmosis system is recommended after your water softener. You can also find out how much it would cost to install a reverse osmosis system in your home in Pakistan.
