WATER SOFTENERS - health risks & effect on drinking water InspectAPedia® -
Water softener salt impact on drinking water
Bacterial hazards from improperly-installed water softeners
Cross connections - plumbing errors at water softener drains
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HEALTH RISKS - of Water Softeners - Water Softener Salt in Drinking Water and Other Risks
SALT IN DRINKING WATER: A properly-adjusted water softener puts about 8 mg of salt (sodium, or NaCl) in each liter of treated
water for each grain of hardness removed. Water at 10 grains of hardness which has been processed by a water softener will have 80 mg of salt/L.
People on low-salt, low sodium, or no-salt diets, infants, and others who want to avoid salt may want to drink water from a tap that bypasses the water softener or that uses water that has had its salt removed after water softening such as water treated by reverse osmosis. -- , CMC, IBC and other sources.
If you are concerned about this salt level, also keep in mind that unless the drinking water supply has been tested and you have a detailed report, the level of various minerals (and other substances) that are in hard water which has not been processed by a water softener has an unknown level of minerals and other materials, possibly more significant than the 8 mg of sodium per liter of treated water.
A water softener which is improperly adjusted or malfunctioning may place higher levels of salt into the building
water supply. The salt level in the backwash discharge from a water softener can contain high levels of salt but that discharge
is not delivered to the building water supply but rather to a drain. See SOFTENER ADJUSTMENT & CLEANING for water softener adjustment advice.
In our water quality articles
we suggest that people who need to avoid salt even at low levels may want to install a bypass water line to deliver water
to one sink tap for drinking and cooking, or they can install a reverse osmosis system to remove salt from water (and other
contaminants) at the point of use, typically in the kitchen.
What contaminants will a water softener remove?
A water softener removes minerals from the water supply, particularly calcium and magnesium, and perhaps a limited amount of un-wanted iron in the water supply. Keep in mind that a water softener is not a water sterilizer. If your water supply is contaminated with bacteria, chemicals, or sediment, the water softener is not designed to remove those substances and other treatment or filtration may be needed.
More details about water softeners and their salt contribution to the drinking water supply and thus to the septic system can be read at SALT OR WATER INTO SEPTIC.
Plumbing CROSS CONNECTIONS at the Water Softener - Bacterial Contamination Health Risks from Plumbing Cross Connections at the Water Softener
Plumbing cross Connections such as those we show in our water softener backwash/recharge drain tube connections at page top and just at left deserve a mention
while we're discussing water softeners. A "cross connection" is
a direct physical connection between a building water supply pipe and a drain pipe.
This may sound like an unlikely event in buildings
but in fact it is common in a few instances: installers often make a tight connection between the water softener backwash/discharge drain
(usually a small diameter plastic tube) and a building drain. While it is not unique to water softener installations, this plumbing error
is often made when these devices are installed. It is unsanitary and is a health risk.
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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Watts Industries of North Andover, Mass., provides its ZRO-4 under counter system intended to target the independent water dealer market.
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North Dakota Standards for Water Softeners, North Dakota General Authority Law, Chapter 62-04-08, Water Softener Units http://www.legis.nd.gov/information/acdata/pdf/62-04-08.pdf. "The objective of this chapter is to provide a standard of quality, capacity,
and performance for water softener units. Water softener performance
is to be based upon referee tests procedures described in section
62-04-08-09."
Culligan Mark 10 Water Softener 1994-1998 Installation and Operating Instructions (covering models manufactured after 1995) (1-96) 01881948.pdf available from www.culligan.com
Water Softeners, CMHC, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/wawa/wawa_005.cfm - October 2008. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation acknowledges the contribution of Health Canada to the development of this document. For further questions regarding water treatment and water quality, contact Health Canada at watereau@hc-sc.gc.ca or call 613-957-2991 or 1-866-225-0709.
"Commercial Water Softener Installation and Operating Instructions", IBC Filtration & Water Treatment Products (Australia) for commercial, industrial and residential application www.ibcwater.com.au (07) 3219 2233
"Non electric water softener,
Installation and Operating Instructions", IBC Filtration & Water Treatment Products (Australia), op.cit.
"Water Softener Twin Tank Installation and Operating Instructions", IBC Filtration & Water Treatment Products (Australia), op.cit.
Our Water Hardness Table used at originated with but was edited and added to from http://www.bestfish.com/tips/110598.html and also from http://www.water-research.net/hardness.htm
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