Water Softeners

A typical water-softening system removes calcium and magnesium ions from hard water and replaces them with sodium ions. Calcium and magnesium ions interfere with the action of household soaps and detergents, but sodium does not. The water-softening process thus helps detergents to more effectively remove dirt and oils from clothing and dishes. It also helps soaps to give a “slippery” feel to your skin when you wash. Most manufacturers of water softeners recommend that you reduce the amount of soap and detergents you use after installing a water softener.
As water enters the softener, it passes over a resin bed in a special tank. The resin consists of tiny beads of a plastic called polystyrene. These beads attract and hold sodium ions and exchange the sodium for hardness ions when encountered. Over time, the resin becomes saturated with hardness ions and no longer removes hardness materials.The softener goes into a “regeneration” to flush hardness materials to the drain and refresh the resin with sodium.Regeneration is typically programmed to take place in the middle of the night when little or no water is in use.