Re: Water Softener

On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:27:35 -0700 (PDT), Sheldon <PENMART01@xxxxxxx> wrote:


"Hard water contains large amounts of calcium and magnesium ? dissolved
from the soil by rainwater. A typical water-softening system removes
calcium and magnesium ions from hard water and replaces them with sodium
ions.

Ions are not salt. The salt used in softeners does not enter domestic
water, it is expelled as grey water. Do you really think all those
many pounds of salt used by a water softener end up in the domestic
water system, then you are psychotic. Salt is used to rejuvenate the
softener elements and is then flushed out as grey water. Any salt
that sneaks by amounts to extremely low trace elements, far less salt
then comes from the same water before softening.

You present me with such a dilemma, Sheldon, whether or not to put you in my
kill file.

On one hand, watching such a champion village idiot at work is entertaining.
OTOH, Watch a champion village idiot like you give out consistently bad advice
is stressful. With so many folks like you abusing keyboards everywhere it's
impossible to de-BS the world and the knowledge of that also causes stress.
For now the entertainment value prevails.

I guess you were sleeping or playing with yourself during jr high school
chemistry class, huh?

If you'd been awake or had your mind out of your crotch, you'd know that when
an ionic substance such as NaCL hit water, it isn't NaCL anymore. It is a
bunch of Na+ and Cl- ions dancing around each other in the solution but
otherwise unconnected.

Next, you were apparently playing with yourself when ion exchange resins were
explained. That was like 8th grade chemistry at my school. Given the raging
hormones of that age, it's understandable that you'd have a deep, committed
and continuous relationship with Rosy Palm which interfered with your
education. Ergo, let me fill in some gaps.

In a water softener, there is a resin that likes to hang on to Na+ ions but
will give 'em up when something more interesting comes along. LIke a Ca+ ion,
fer'instance. Mg+ is another ion that the resin is quite fond of. It
exchanges a Na+ ion for a Ca+ or Mg+ ion. That's why it's called ion exchange
resin. A Duh moment, huh?

When the resin kicks out a Na+ ion while taking in a Ca+ or Mg+ ion, the Na+
dances around in solution with whatever negative ions that happened to be in
the water headed out of the softener. Could be a carbonate, for instance,
since calcium carbonate is a common compound of calcium found in hard water.
Could be magnesium carbonate or less often magnesium sulfate.

The reason this "softens" the water is that Na+ ions don't combine with soap
to make slimy glop like Ca and Mg ions do. There are as many Na+ ions in the
water as there were Ca+ and Mg+ ions, it's just that they don't do any harm,
at least to most folks.

In the process of softening the water, ions of Na are kicked out and go with
the flow to wherever water is being used. It probably isn't associated with
chloride ions because unless the water supply is also contaminated with salt
water, there is no source of 'em.

The resin continues to kick out Na+ ions until it runs out of 'em. Then it's
time for a fill-up. Also known as "regeneration". The ion bed is flooded
with a solution of Na+ and Cl- ions (salt water) and the concentration of Na
ions causes the resin to kick out the Ca, Mg and other pesky ions and take up
the Na. They, along with the Cl- ions that are along for the ride, go out the
drain along with the unused Na ions. What ends up in the regen effluent
stream is a mixture of Na+, Ca+, Mg+, perhaps Fe+ (if the softener also is
designed to catch iron) and Cl- ions. When the water evaporates, what is left
is a crystalline mass of sodium, calcium and magnesium chlorides.

As far as health concerns go, it's the Na+ ion that matters to so-called
"salt-sensitive" hypertensive people. The Cl- ions are just along for the
ride to keep the net charge equal to 0. The body uses the Cl- ion for things
like making hydrochloric acid for your stomach but it is otherwise benign in
the concentration involved. That's why salt substitute KCl can be used by
sodium-sensitive people. Potassium doesn't make blood pressure rise like
sodium does. And if the patient is taking a typical diuretic to aid with
blood pressure control, the K replaces the K that is removed by the diuretic,
helping maintain proper blood electrolyte balance.

Are there enough Na+ ions to matter? Can't say. IT depends on how hard the
water is and how sensitive the patient is to Na. That's a chat one should
have with his doc after having his softened tap water analyzed for sodium
content.

As to the question of sending the regeneration water to the septic system, I
don't have any experience but my gut tells me "it depends". Mainly on how
much rain you get. If the area is dry and most of the septic system effluent
goes away via evaporation then the salt is going to build up. How much and
whether it matters is something that I don't know.

If the location gets a lot of rain so that the ground is moist and leech field
discharge is disposed of primarily by flowing through the soil to underground
streams, then there probably isn't a build-up.

If I lived in an area where I needed a water softener, I'd arrange for the
regeneration effluent to flow to a creek, a ditch or other place where rain
water would carry it away. I'd do that rather than try to figure out if there
is enough involved to harm the leech field. It's a lot simpler to bury an
inch or inch and a half line over to the creek or ditch than it is to dig up
and replace the soil where your leech field is.

Oh, before I go. A little tip for ya, Sheldon. There's this nifty, fairly
new and free resource on the net called Google. Used properly, it can help
you break your addiction to village idiocy. In case you've never heard of it,
just click here: http://www.google.com. Then type in your question. Like,
fer'instance, "How does a water softener work".

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
Remember, amateurs made the Ark, professionals made the Titanic.

.

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