Water softener is the device that treats hard water and provides users with soft water. On theory, a water softener removes calcium and magnesium from the water in exchange of sodium that too in a very low quantity by using a process called ionization. There are a lot of water softeners that you can buy online.
Basically there are 2 different types of water softeners:
- Salt water softeners
- Salt free water softeners
You need to be aware of the differences between these 2 which will help you to decide which one is the right choice according to your requirements.
- Salt water softeners
Salt water softeners are the more common softeners in the market. These softeners have a tube like structure which has a resin bed in it, when the water enters the resin bed, the softener uses electricity to trigger the process of ionization which trades sodium in a very low quantity for removing calcium and magnesium from the water. During the process, the softener constantly drains out the impurities via drain and the sodium keeps on replenishing due to an automated cycle during the whole process.
- Salt free water softeners
This process is also called descale treatment. Unlike the conventional treatment this treatment doesn’t remove the impurities but just changes their form so that they cannot cause build-up. According to the experts this form isn’t actually water softening, but it can be said as water conditioning. This doesn’t require any electricity hence it is a bit more budget friendly. What happens in this method is that the minerals are converted into crystal with the use of Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC). This makes the crystal unable to bind with other compounds hence making the water soft.
After the above explanation, it is safe to say that salt water softeners are better in most of the cases but if you want the minerals intact, low maintenance, and no electricity bill related to it, then the salt free water softeners are surely the right choice.