A water softener extracts hard water minerals and replaces them with sodium ions. Conversely, a water conditioner improves water quality.
It can be frustrating to witness hard water scaling around the showerhead, kitchen, and bathroom faucets and drains. Baths are never an exciting experience when soap just doesn’t lather all the way.
Taking the right steps to deal with a hard water menace shouldn’t be a distant thought but a necessary course of action. This entails evaluating various options for hard water remediation, which will include two concepts; water softening and water conditioning.
Typically, these terminologies depict two different systems that can lessen the effects of hard water on your plumbing system and in your home.
Water Softener vs Water Conditioner
A water softener refers to a comprehensive system that relies on an ionic exchange process to extract hard water minerals such as magnesium and calcium from water and replace them with sodium ions. The minerals are flushed out of your water system, rendering your water supply free from minerals associated with hard water.
Conversely, a water conditioner or descaler is a different type of system that improves water quality. Various types of water conditioners operate in their unique way and have the ability to filter and flush out chlorine, which eventually improves the taste of water.
Even though a descaler isn’t equipped to completely remove minerals from the water, it works by altering the chemical structure of water to prevent minerals from developing scales and causing adverse corrosion to faucets, appliances, and fixtures.
Maintenance Needs
Water softeners require annual system maintenance and monitoring to ensure optimum operations. Pipelines should also be monitored over time to prevent residual salt pellets from causing substantial wear and tear.
Water conditioners operate on a different spectrum because there is no use of salt. While there are numerous water conditioner brands in the market, they are all similar in design. A typical water conditioner consists of a variety of media that cleans and filters chemicals while changing the structure of the minerals in our water.
The media within a water conditioner can last longer but will need to be replaced over time.
Benefits of Water Conditioners and Water Softeners
- It is much easier to cleanse bathtubs and sinks because there are no layers of calcification
- Showering is a much more enjoyable experience, and the water leaves your body and hair feeling softer and smoother
- Softened water prolongs the lifespan of your plumbing, machines, and dishwashers since it does not leave mineral buildup in the water pipes
At Aqua Science, we strive to educate our clients and offer solutions for water treatment. Each water conditioner and water softener we provide is engineered to provide the best solution possible. Contact and hire us to install either a water softener or water conditioner.
