I’m thinking of installing a water softener unit for my home. However, I’m affraid about drinking or cooking using water softener, therefore, I also will be installing a separate water filter system to filter out the water softener in my home. My concern now is that since the water softener use sodium to exchange ion, can the water filter system model#ERO650 be able to filter all the sodium out??

Answer:
We are not familiar with the water filter system model number that you refer to, However, as the model number contains the letters “RO”, we assume that this is a reverse osmosis system. If it is, then all sodium in your water will be removed by a reverse osmosis system. However, should probably not be concerned with the small amount of sodium added – some companies that offer filter systems make a big deal about drinking softened water – softened water is consumed daily by millions of persons with no ill effects.

A water softener does add sodium to the water – you can’t taste it (not a very high level, normally only detectable by laboratory methods) – daily intake would be about equivalent to the sodium contained in a can of soda or slice of bread). Rule of thumb is 7 to 8 mg/l sodium per grain of water hardness. So, at typical hardness levels of ~8 to 25 GPG, the amount of salt in water is very low, and normally not a concern.

However, if you or any of the residents of the home are under a doctors direction to restrict sodium from your diet, you can consider using potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride in your softener. In this way, only a very small amount of potassium is added to your water – no sodium at all.

Our water softeners are able to use either sodium chloride or potassium chloride salt, and work well using a wide variety of salt brands. We always recommend that you purchase potassium chloride purified for use in water softeners (available at many supermarkets, plumbing supply and hardware stores). Non-sodium potassium chloride is commonly available and sold under the brand names Morton KCL, K-Life, Softouch, Nature’s Own, and others.

You can view and purchase our water softeners and reverse osmosis systems online at http://www.caitechnologies.com – enter the Water Treatment Systems area, and click on the “Metered Water Softeners” or “Reverse Osmosis” (drop-down under the Online Store menu. By the way, we are currently running a sale that bundles a water softener and RO system together at a special reduced price – visit our “Internet Specials” page for more info. You can also visit our sister site at http://ewateronline.net.