With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.
For many of us, the drinking water quality in our homes is less than ideal. Unfortunately, there are some myths surrounding domestic water treatment systems that leave homeowners wondering if water from water softeners is actually safe to drink. So, here we’ll explore this topic in further detail so you can have the facts to make an informed decision for your home and family.
Drinking Salt Water
When you start to research water softeners, you’re likely to immediately read that these devices use ion exchange to replace the calcium and magnesium minerals causing hard water with sodium. This may make you immediately wonder if you’ll need up drinking salty water.
The amount of sodium used during the water softening process will vary according to the hardness of your untreated tap water, but depending on the type of sodium used, even very hard water will not require massive amounts. Generally, only small amounts of sodium are put into water treated with a softener. This is typically approximately 12.5 milligrams per glass. This is a safe level for those on a normal, healthy diet. For comparison, a slice of bread can contain approximately 100 milligrams of sodium, so this is far less. If you are concerned about your salt intake or need to be on a low salt diet, you may need to consider other water treatment methods.
Is Filtered Water Better than Softened Water?
There is some concern that filtered water is a healthier option than softened water. Since softening removes calcium and magnesium, there is a view that you may be missing out on vital minerals. The World Health Organization does recommend getting 10% of your daily magnesium and calcium needs from our drinking water, but if you have a varied diet, this should not be necessary. If you do have concerns about losing these essential minerals, you may wish to consider a water ionizer or other type of water treatment system that can reduce water hardness, while allowing some minerals to remain in your drinking water.
Removing More than Water Hardness Minerals
If your water quality is poor, you may need to consider more than just removing the water hardness minerals. Fortunately, there are a number of treatment options including Reverse Osmosis. RO systems can provide a solution if your water quality is particularly bad, such as a rotten egg smell, or strong odours from proximity to coal mining, processing, hydraulic “fracking” operations or any other source of potential chemical pollution.
Reverse Osmosis systems can remove 99.9% of contaminants commonly found in water supplies. The water is passed through a semipermeable membrane to produce almost pure water. This is an effective way to remove heavy metals, minerals, viruses, and even bacteria. This can make your drinking water safe even if it contains e.coli and other potentially harmful bacteria.
So, When is a Water Softener a Good Option?
Hard water can be a massive problem around the home as mineral deposits are created to clog up appliances, fixtures, and plumbing. Water softeners provide a great solution for this problem as the ion exchange process can remove the amount of magnesium and calcium found in your tap water.
Ion exchange works on a relatively simple principle. Inside the softener is a special resin containing negatively charged beads to attract and trap the magnesium and calcium ions. Over time, these beads lose their effectiveness and need to be recharged with sodium or potassium salts. This recharge process does leave some salt in the charged resin beads that end up in the drinking water.
A water softener improves the water quality for bathing, cleaning, washing, and drinking. It can be a useful tool to protect your plumbing and appliances from hard water deposits. If you have concerns about sodium in your drinking water, it is possible to have a bypass for your water softener system at your kitchen sink. This will allow you to access regular water for all of your drinking and cooking needs.
Should You Have a Bypass For Drinking Water in Your Home?
Homes built after the 1980s must include a freshwater bypass that is built into the plumbing system, to allow water straight from a kitchen tap. Additionally, most water softener systems are installed with a bypass that is specifically for this purpose. Since water softeners are designed to just address hard water issues, you may need another treatment system to remove any toxins or unpleasant aesthetic qualities from your drinking water. This means that the bypass can feed into an RO system or water ionizer to provide you with filtered drinking water.
Using a Water Ionizer With Your Water Softener
If your home currently has a water softener, you can still add a water ionizer to improve the quality of your drinking water. The water ionizer should bypass the softener and be connected directly to your water source. A water ionizer allows hard water to hydrate better and can improve the bio-availability of the minerals in your tap water. This will enable you to benefit from the essential minerals in your water, as they contribute to providing alkaline water. While a water softener can make your tap water safe for appliances and plumbing, it doesn’t particularly improve your drinking water quality. Although hard water minerals can affect cooking and hot drinks prepared with tap water, a softener may not make an appreciable difference to your drinking water quality. Teaming a water softener with a water ionizer allows you to enjoy both protection for your appliances and plumbing, and fresh, delicious drinking water.
Ionized water can improve hydration and will still provide for approximately 10% of the recommended daily needs of magnesium and calcium. Since the water is more alkaline, it may also provide further help benefits. Research suggests that the more alkaline your drinking water, the greater the protective effects on the arteries and heart. So, you can enjoy numerous health benefits and a delicious taste.
If you are still confused about which water treatment system is best for your home and family, be sure to speak to a water treatment professional. An experienced technician can not only test your water supply, but also guide you through the treatment options most appropriate to your water quality issues.