water softeners

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Residential water softeners are important water treatment devices that protect water heaters and appliances, make soap lather better, prevent scale buildup on fixtures, and generally make water more pleasant and life more enjoyable. They are not water filters, but ion exchangers. They trade sodium for calcium and magnesium, the minerals that make water “hard.”

Standard ion exchange water softeners have been in use for over a century, and they get better all the time. Their enduring popularity with residential users attests to their effectiveness.

Softener Pros and Cons

While softeners are most often used to remove calcium and magnesium from water, in some conditions they can also remove iron, manganese, lead, and even ammonia.

A softener is definitely the best product for removal of “hardness” ions calcium and magnesium which cause scale buildup in plumbing, staining of fixtures, and spotting of glassware in dishwashers and surfaces of recently washed cars. Soap does not lather well in hard water and hot water appliances exposed to hard water suffer a buildup of deposits, reducing their effectiveness and shortening their lifespan. Softeners cure those problems.

One of the most significant developments in recent years in the treatment of the persistent residential well water issues of iron and hydrogen sulfide is the development of aeration systems that put the filter and the aeration treatment in the same tank.

Air is one of the most effective treatments for well water with the problems of rotten egg odor and red and black staining. Air adds no chemicals to the water, requires no routine maintenance, and is inexpensive to apply.

Closed-tank aeration is a long established method for preparing iron, hydrogen sulfide, and manganese for removal by filtration. Closed tank aeration systems have until recently consisted of two separate treatment tanks: Air is introduced into the water in the first tank, then filtration of the “oxidized” particles is carried out in the second tank.

The treatment units described on this page perform both functions, aeration and filtration, in a single tank. This single tank system uses the filter tank itself to perform the aeration.

Single tank units require no electrical pumps, no solenoids, and no external venturis. Single tank units are compact, require little electricity, and are very easy to install, set up, and maintain. Most of all, they are very effective.

With our single tank aeration/filtration units, air is drawn into the treatment tank in the same way that brine is drawn into a water softener resin tank. During the nightly regeneration phase, air is pulled into the tank and water is expelled. As the tank refills with water, the air is compressed into a tight pocket that sits above the filter media. Water entering the tank sprays down through the air pocket, where contaminants are oxidized and prepared for removal by the filter media in the bottom 2/3 of the tank. In a single tank aeration system, the entire tank becomes an oxygen-rich chamber favorable to optimal performance by the filter media.

Hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) can give water a “rotten egg” taste or odor. This gas can occur in wells anywhere and be: Naturally occurring - a result of decay and chemical reactions with soil and rocks. Produced by certain “sulfur bacteria” in the groundwater, well, or plumbing system.