After 30 years, I suppose it is time to replace our softener!  Have been trying to research the salt free type of softener, but blogs are all one sided…supported by those promoting this type of softener.  I have the concerns about environment, and health, but not sure that these softeners would handle the hardness of our water, just north of Milwaukee.  Can you provide the pros and cons of this type of softener?

Answer: Great to hear that you got 30 years of service out of the softener!  You must have good overall water quality.  Anyway, there is quite a lot of controversy regarding magnetic, catalytic and other “salt free” type water softening products.  We hesitate commenting on their performance directly, as a well known independent industry association that did comment was tied up in very expensive litigation, and forced to withdraw their findings.  However, you may note that none of the other well-known major suppliers of water softener systems (like Culligan or Kinetico) offer these devices. You can visit one of our sites at eWaterOnline.net to find out more regarding these products from government and independent sources.

Many “salt free” systems are also referred to as “Water Conditioners”.   These products do not soften water, as they generally contain only carbon, or sometimes mixed with a second media in a mixed-bed design.  These products can remove chlorine and other contaminants, but do not provide soft water.  Many times they claim NSF certification, but if you visit the NSF website – you will find that they are mostly certified only to NSF standard 42  – a specification that covers aesthetic  effects.  Also, there is a difference between using NSF certified parts in your equipment, and having a NSF “system” certification.  All equipment components used in potable water system must be NSF certified – everything in any of our equipment is – we just don’t bother to mention it.  You will note that some products have a NSF certification followed by a number, like reverse osmosis system have an NSF 58 certification, ultraviolet sterilization have an NSF 55, and many water softener have a standard 44.  This means that the NSF have tested and certified that the product meets the manufacturers claims.  We are not aware of any salt free water softener systems that have obtained a standard 44 certification.

Regarding your health concerns, water softeners do not really add very much sodium to the water (only 8 mg/l sodium per grain of hardness contained in your water).  This means that when drinking a normal amount of softened water each day (within a typical hardness range), you will consume about the same amount of salt that is contained in a can of soda, or a slice of white bread.  You can’t normally taste it – usually only detectable by laboratory means.  However, if you or any of the residents of the home are under a doctor’s direction to restrict sodium completely from your diet, or if you have very high levels of hardness in your water (40 GPG and above) you may want to use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride in your softener.  In this way, only potassium is added to your water – no sodium at all – potassium is a nutrient and a fertilizer.  We always recommend that you use sodium chloride or potassium chloride purified for use in water softeners (available at many supermarkets, plumbing supply and hardware stores).  Non-sodium potassium chloride is commonly available at supermarkets and “Big Box” stores, and sold under the brand names Morton KCL, K-Life, Softouch and Nature’s Own.  There is a nationwide chain called “Tractor Supply Company” that carries potassium chloride at very reasonable pricing. The down-side if that potassium chloride is still more expensive than sodium chloride.  Most people use sodium chloride.

 If you want to minimize sodium discharge into the environment, consider a softener like our WS2FM Aqua-Pro softener.  This is a counter-current proportional brining water softener, that is very salt efficient, as it only regenerates the portion of the cation exchange resin bed that is exhausted.  Standard design water softeners regenerate the entire bed during each regeneration, so only regenerating a part of the bed results in less salt consumed and discharged.  This said, salt savings of a proportional brining water softener vs. a standard design softener are not significant enough to be a monetary issue, it’s mostly an environmental consideration.  Also, using a proportional brining softener does not mean that less sodium is placed into your water – it only means that less salt is consumed during regeneration – saves in the amount of salt you need to purchase, and discharges less sodium into the environment.