Water Softening vs Conditioning

To really delve into this topic we need to explore what the differences are in water Softening and Water Conditioning.

Water Softening - A water softener reduces the dissolved calcium, magnesium, and to some degree manganese and ferrous iron ion concentration in hard water.

Water Conditioning  -  Water conditioning counteracts the hardness in water to prevent a build up of limescale. It differs from water softening in that softening removes minerals from the water, whereas conditioning doesn't.

Softening replaces the calcium ion with a sodium or potassium ion.  Thsi reduces the hardness but adds undesirable items tot he water that you shower in and drink.  Most softener companies recommend using a Reverse osmosis system for drinking water because of the addition of undesirable items in the water.

Most ionizer companies will tell you that you cannot use a ionizer with a softener.  This is only part true.  The ionizer will function but the salts used in the softening process will corrode the internal components of the ionizer thus the reason why Manufacturers will not honor a warranty on machines used with a softener.

Since water conditioners only effect the water and do not remove anything from the water you can use the ionizer with this type of system

There are some pre filters that can be used instead or a regimented cleaning process for the ionizer.

Call us if you have any questions regarding you set up and water quality