Contaminants such as lead can be dangerous when present in your drinking water. Unlike adults, who only absorb about 11% of lead when ingested, children can absorb up to 75%, leading to a higher possibility of negative effects on a child's nervous system. Take a look at this article to learn more about the 15 terrible toxins that might be in your tap water.
Filtration Technology
Water Softener vs Water Filter - What’s the Difference?
5 min read
“Hard” water can ruin appliances and leave a filmy scum in your kitchen sink. At the same time, polluted tap water can be hazardous to your health.
Fortunately, water softeners and water filters are here to save the day! On their own, they can do some pretty amazing things, but together they’re an unstoppable water purification team.
Let’s take a closer look at the differences between water softeners and water filters...
A water softener is a device that removes minerals that make water “hard,” like calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese.
A water filter, on the other hand, removes everything from excess minerals to nuclear waste.
If you just want to protect your pipes and appliances from hard water, then a water softener is all you need. However, if you want to soften your water and kick contaminants to the curb, then a water filter is just what the doctor ordered.
Next, let’s take a closer look at the benefits of these dynamic devices.
Water softeners prevent damage from one of the most common water problems: hard water. If undealt with, hard water can unleash heck on your home.
Here are just a few of the problems that water softeners solve:
- Damaged dishwashers, coffee makers and ice machines
- Stained sinks, bathtubs and showers
- Decreased water pressure
- Filmy shower curtains
- Itchy skin and dry hair
- Ruined water heaters
- Scaly faucet heads
- Streaky dishes
- Clogged pipes
- Dingy clothes
Hard water can be especially rough on hot water heaters, because high temperatures make calcium and magnesium solidify more easily --- this means dishwashers and laundry machines are in trouble too.
When it comes down to it, a water softener protects your home, appliances, clothes, hair, and skin from hard water. If mineral build-up is the only problem with your water supply, then a water softener is all you need.
Unfortunately, there could be worse problems lurking in your pipes.
Water filters come in all shapes and sizes. Some are handheld carbon-based filters that fit in your fridge, and others are whole-house systems that remove chlorine, pesticides, and arsenic while protecting your pipes and appliances from water hardness.
Then there are under-the-sink reverse osmosis (RO) systems that purify and soften water for drinking and cooking.
Here are some of the top benefits of RO filters:
- Remineralizes your water with healthy amounts of magnesium and other electrolytes
- Removes contaminants like lead, arsenic, pesticides, and nuclear waste
- Makes perfectly alkalized, balanced pH water every time
- Removes chemical disinfectants, like chlorine
- Improves taste
The combo of an under-the-sink RO system with a whole-house water softener can be a relatively cost-effective way to protect your home and your body. They make an awesome team!
Water softeners use a technology called “ion exchange” in order to remove minerals like calcium and magnesium from the water.
When hard water enters the system, it flows through a bed of positively-charged resin beads. Because opposites attract, the positively-charged beads attract negatively-charged minerals like calcium.
Voila! The beads grab hold of the hard minerals and remove them from the water. Your water is now softer than a teddy bear and ready to flow through your home.
Let’s take a closer look at the stages of a whole-house water softener:
The mineral tank is where hard water is softened by the ion exchange resin beads. When hard water enters the tank, the hard minerals are trapped. Soft water then exits the tank and flows through your pipes and appliances.
The control valve monitors the amount of water entering the mineral tank. Before the resin beads fill up with those hard minerals (and therefore become ineffective), the control valve triggers a regeneration cycle to eject excess minerals from the system.
The brine tank holds a concentrated solution of sodium or potassium. Typically a brine tank contains simple rock salt; it is inexpensive and the high sodium content will do the trick.
When the resin beads become too hard, the brine solution (i.e. saltwater) is released into the mineral tank and flushes out the resin beads, allowing them to “regenerate.”
The beads are once again cocked, locked and ready to soften.
Reverse osmosis (RO) water filters can be split into two categories:
- Point-of-Entry (POE): A whole-house filter that treats water for the entire house.
- Point-of-Use (POU): A countertop or under-the-sink filter used for cooking and drinking water.
POE filters purify the water that flows through your showers, toilets, laundry machines, and kitchen appliances, and they typically include a mechanical sediment filter, water softener, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet system.
In general, whole-house RO systems are elaborate, expensive, and create a huge amount of waste water.
Point of use (POU) filters, on the other hand, are more affordable and protect the water that matters most: the water you drink.
Here’s how a reverse osmosis system works:
Think of this like a micro-sized fishing net designed to catch loose dirt and debris. It removes the big stuff and protects the rest of the system from unnecessary wear-and-tear. At the same time, it removes most of the cloudiness and discoloration.
After the sediment filter, the water heads to a carbon filter. The carbon filter traps most of the compounds that give water a bad taste, like chlorine. It also protects the rest of the system from damage. Carbon filters are almost always the second stage of an RO system.
You already know…
Ion exchange resins soften the water and prevent mineral deposits from gunking up your pipes.
The resin beads in RO filters, however, go above and beyond --- they also remove certain toxic chemicals linked to weakened immunity, like polyfluorinated substances (PFAS).
The RO membrane takes care of the nastiest-of-the-nastiest, including pollutants like:
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Pharmaceuticals
- Nuclear particles
- Herbicides
- Pesticides
- Arsenic
- Radium
- Fluoride
- Bacteria
- Lead
It also removes any chlorine or PFAS that may have snuck by.
The post filter includes one final round of carbon and ion exchange resins, just for good measure.
Last but not least, it remineralizes the water with healthy amounts of calcium, magnesium, and other essential minerals. These nutrients are essential to the human body, and in small amounts do not cause damage to pipes or appliances. Plus, remineralization balances pH, making it the healthiest drinking water possible.
Water softeners and water filters make one heck of a team! The only question is, are you going to install a water softener, a whole-house filter, an under-the-sink filter, or a combo?
In a perfect world, you want crisp, clean drinking water flowing through every nook and cranny of your pipes and appliances. The problem is, whole-house systems can be incredibly expensive.
Fortunately, Cloud under-the-sink RO systems can purify, soften, remineralize and alkalize your drinking water without draining your bank account.
Click here to learn more.
