Can you drink the water from the water softener system? Will it be salty? Does the filteration system help with hard water? Any info will really help! Thanks!
2007-01-06 07:24:33 · 4 answers · asked by Sherrie L 5 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Water softening and water filtration are TWO different things. A water softener (with salt) softens the mineral content of the water (minerals make the water hard, but are healthy for you). Water filtration does NOT soften the water but instead, removes impurities, lead, etc., and minerals (removing minerals is not necessarily a good thing as you need the minerals in your body). If you drink water that has been doftened via a water softener you will NOT taste the salt, but of course you will be adding additional sodium to your diet and that would be bad if you have high blood pressure. There is a "bypass" valve on most softeners allowing for the drawing of unsoftened water. Also, DO NOT water your plants or the garden with soft water as it will ruin your plants.Pets should also be drinking UN-softened water, i.e., they should have hard water and get the mineral advantages.
2007-01-06 07:29:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
A water softening system is a type of whole house filter. I assume you are refering to the canister type filter when you say whole house filtration system. What will work best for you depends on the water that you are trying to treat. A water softener removes heavy minerals like iron and calcium from the water which commonly cause build up or deposit problems in your pipes and on fixtures. A water softener does not leave a salty taste to the water the salt brine is only used to back flush the filter mineral inside the tank and is then rinsed out. If you are trying to fix a taste or odor problem then a canister with a carbon filter will be of more help to you. For serious water problems you may need a canister with a string filter infront of the water softener and a carbon filter after the water softener.
2007-01-06 07:39:52 · answer #2 · answered by James S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can install a filter without installing a water softener, but it sounds to me like you are a candidate for a system. I'm in Downeast Maine and your water sounds similar to ours. Our water is just slightly hard, but also with slightly elevated iron levels. Your pH is identical to ours, before treatment. We started out with just a sediment filter to eliminate iron particles. These particles didn't appear to be affecting the taste of our water, or produce any staining, but would fill up our faucet aerators over several days. Our house was new, and after about a year we started to notice a little bit of white forming around our aerators due to the hardness, so at that point we decided to install a water softener. This also took care of our elevated iron readings. The next problem that arose was pale blue staining in our shower and bathroom sink. I knew that this was our acidic water eating at the copper piping. We added another system to keep our pH balanced (7.5). It's been ten years now and all of the measures we took are working fine. It costs us about $400 annually for filters, solar salt, and potassium carbonate.
2016-05-22 23:35:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
filters =filter
softeners=remove the hard water. Yes its safe to drink.
2007-01-06 12:06:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋