Way OT: Salt Free Soft Water Systems

I hope you don't mean magnets.....

Tim Greif - West of Chicago

>By Salt free whole house water system, I assume you mean salt free softening systems. I work in the water and wastewater industry. There are systems out there that claim to soften water by the use of electromagnets. While they have been reported to prevent scaling in boiler water systems, they do not soften water. I know of not even ONE reputable testing agency that's ever found these miracle machines to be what they report themselves to be. I'd expect them to be sold alongside the gasoline atomic converters and nuclear phenobulators at JC Whitney in the 150 mpg accessories aisle. If you're seriously considering one of these, I hope you reconsider, or at least get a tinfoil hat. Not trying to be a smart___. I just get tired of all the folks trying to sell stuff that has no basis in science.

Re: I hope you don't mean magnets.....

Roger

>Tim,

Thanks for the information, what I am thinking about are the charcoal filter type like LifeSource, however these may rate up there with the magnet systems. I live in California and my area does not allow Salt Systems and I really would rather not rent one.

Thanks

Roger

What about potassium chloride?

Johanna

>We use potassium chloride rather than sodium chloride. It is healthier both for people and the environment, but it does cost more than sodium chloride. Unless your water is extremely hard, the cost is negligible. Our water checked out at 109 grains (10 grains is considered hard water!), so we go through a bag a week at about $9 a bag. Hardly anyone has water that hard, though.

Except ours, Johanna,

Don Henthorn

>It is in the 120's. I didn't want to but I had to get a softener to get any suds in the shower. Of course then I slipped on the suds and took a nasty fall that I am still recovering from. I may go the potassium Chloride route the next time I buy salt although to date we haven't noticed any adverse effects. I don't think the charcoal type filter will do a lot to removed the hardness and if it does I doubt if a cartridge last very long. However, I confess I don't know much about those units.

Re: What about potassium chloride?

Howard Norman-Prescott, AZ

>Johanna, do you have a Costco nearby? I use KCl in my softener and buy the KCl from Costco. Lowest price that I have found. I agree that is a lot better for you and the environment than NaCl.

Howard

Re: What about potassium chloride?

Johanna

>I've never seen it at Costco, but I'll surely check that out. Thanks!

Re: Except ours, Johanna,

Johanna

>Sorry to hear that you fell on the slippery soapsuds!

You do, indeed, have the hardest water I have ever heard of! Where do you live? Must have a lot of limestone there.

Although it's important to get suds for washing, the most important reason to have a water softener is to protect plumbing and appliances that use water. I know people who have had to replace everything!

Most of us get way too much NaCl, so KCl is really a good option.

Re: I hope you don't mean magnets.....

Steve Strickland

>I'm in the 110-120 hardness range. I had to install a chlorinator, a softener unit that uses salt, a charcoal filter, then a reverse osmosis unit. It works great. It's high maintenance, consumes a lot of electricity and cost around $6,000 new.

You wanna buy my filtration system? Sell it to ya cheap.

And better for you health

Mike Farinella

>than salt.

Re: Way OT: Salt Free Soft Water Systems

Dale Sherman - Manlius, NY

>Can I use KCl in place of NaCl in my regular water softener? If so, do I need to set up the purge cycle differently? How does KCl react with laundry soap, bleach, etc? My water is 32 grains hard.

I also have iron (and iron bacteria), does KCl help with that? I haven't found much information online that helps explain the best approach to deal with all this.

Dale

Re: Way OT: Salt Free Soft Water Systems

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Hi, Dale,

I have high iron in and acid in my water, and I swithced from sodium because of eye irritations. My treatment runs through a neutralizer and then KCL for softening. The KCL does just as well as the sodium-based. You should clean out your brine tank before charging with the KCL, but the normal recharge cycling with purge your system of the sodium as a matter of course.

I've now got four 5-gal buckets of salt that I'll use for snow melter if it ever snows here again.

mm

Re: And better for you health

GolfSteve in Calgary

>I don't think you're supposed to drink the softened water. Around here the taps at your kitchen sink (and outside taps) are not softened.

If your water is so bad that it needs to be cleaned up to drink it, most people would have a reverse osmosis filter installed at the sink to clean up water for drinking, and use softened water everywhere else (bathroom, etc.)

Re: Way OT: Salt Free Soft Water Systems

Johanna

>For iron, I use a produce called Iron-Out. I sprinkle it on the KCL every time I add the salt.

I have never heard that the treated water is harmful at all to drink the treated water -- it does not taste wonderful when you drink it, tho. We do use the reverse osmosis unit for most drinking and cooking.