Do Salt-Free Water Softeners Work?
Water softeners use an ion exchange process to remove both calcium and magnesium from the water. Softeners utilize a plastic polymer with a positive ionic charge that holds on to negatively charged calcium and magnesium ions in the water.
Several popular water filtration companies make salt-free water softeners. The idea of a salt-free way to soften water is appealing from a maintenance standpoint, but unfortunately, these systems do not work.
Salt-free water softeners do not soften water - they condition it. Saltless systems chemically transform the magnesium and calcium so they do not adhere to surfaces.
Because salt-free systems do not "capture" calcium and magnesium, there is no need for a regeneration cycle to clean the resin bed and flush the minerals.
Disadvantages Salt-Free Water "Softeners"
Because the hard water minerals are not actually captured by salt-free water softener systems, there is no need for salt or a regeneration cycle to purge the minerals down the drain. Since the very definition of water softening requires that hard water minerals be REMOVED, and the salt-free process only CHANGES the minerals, allowing them to remain in the water, salt-free water softeners don't actually soften water – rather, they are for "water conditioning".
Penn State University laboratory tests found "no discernible change in water hardness" in salt-free softeners.
With a salt-free water softener, you'll still have hard water and the following problems:
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Hard water spots on your glasses and dishes
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Soap-scum buildup up on shower doors
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Scale buildup on fixtures and water-using appliances
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75% more soap, detergent and shampoo useage
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Water heating expenses 30% above the cost of heating soft water