How Does A Water Softener Work?

A water softener uses a medium that serves to exchange “ions” of calcium and magnesium with sodium or potassium. The water in the house runs through a media tank filled with a resin bed of small plastic beads designed to attract hard minerals present in the water. Eventually they are saturated with minerals and need to be cleaned or regenerated. Sodium or potassium is introduced to the media bed during regeneration. As this brine water flows over the resin beads ion exchange occurs, they swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions and the hard minerals are removed from the resin beads and discharged in the backwash water along with any dirt or sediment collected. The final phase rinses the resin bed with fresh water and loads the brine tank so it is ready for the next cycle. Automatic water softeners are usually programmed to recharge at specific times that will not disrupt the occupants. It is more water-efficient to have a metered that will regenerate only when required