Home Water Softeners
I recently moved into a new house and when looking for it, one of my stipulations was that it have a good home water softener installed. My last house didn't have one, so the water quality wasn't very good and every time I took a shower, the hard water left me with an almost dirty feeling because the soap didn't get washed off completely.
Water softeners are used to get rid of "hard water," which leaves a white residue behind. It does this because the water contains calcium and magnesium, which solidify when the water dries. It's most noticeable on tea kettles or coffee makers.
Home Water Softeners--How Do They Work?
Home water softeners basically work by taking out the calcium and magnesium and replacing them with sodium. Since sodium doesn't leave behind an icky residue or stick to pipes, there's no harm done via the replacement. You won't notice the sodium in the water--all you'll notice is a lack of white build-up.
Water softeners contain sodium ions. When water containing calcium or magnesium flows over the device containing the softener, the sodium ions take the place of the magnesium and calcium ions, which stay behind. Eventually, your device will contain only magnesium and calcium, at which point you'll need to soak it in salt water for it to remain effective.
