Water softener regenerates themselves which is in easier language a cleaning process. This cleaning process requires some amount of water. For some people high water bill is the reason for not installing water softener. Let me tell you, high water bill has nothing to do with water softener. The amount of water that is required by water softener is totally depending on the hardness level of water and household need. For some water softeners, 20-25 gallons water is enough for regeneration whereas for some may required more than 50 gallon. In short if you ask me how much water is wasted in water softener my answer would be, it all depends on the usage and hardness level of water. You can choose the best water softener system for your home according to your budget.
Contents
Why Regeneration Is Necessary?
You might know that a water softener soften the water via ion exchange method. In this method hard water is passed through a bed of resins beads which are negatively charged. This sheet of negatively charged ions holds the calcium and magnesium from the hard water since they are positively charged ions leaving behind soft and hard mineral free water that continues to flow to your entire household.
This process is called ion-exchange.As the time passes, the resin beads become fully saturated with hardness minerals and unable to hold any calcium and magnesium ion. This is the stage where we need to regenerate the softener. It’s like a resin bead cleaning process. Or in other words you can say that the resin bead will recharged so that it can start the softening process again.
Is Regeneration a Time Taking Process?
It requires only 2 hours to regenerate the water softener. Ideally, water softeners are recharged during night hours when no one is using water softener. Using water during water softener regeneration is quite dangerous as hard water will fill the water heater and this could lead to build up in equipment.
How Often a Water Softener Should Regenerates?
Again, it depends on the household water usage and water hardness level. So, you should have a proper knowledge about the water hardness level of you area. There are certain kits that you can use to test the hardness level of your water. For instance in a particular area the hardness level is 10gpg whereas the softener that you have installed as capacity of 30,000 grains.
In some cases regeneration occurs once in a month where as in some softeners regeneration occurs after every two or three days. So the regeneration frequency depends on the following factors:
The hardness level of your water
- Tank capacity
- Number of households
- PH level of water
- Iron level of water
- Age of water softener
How Many Gallons of Water Does a Water Softener Use During Regeneration?
Typically, a water softener that is used by a family of 4 persons requires 35-65 gallons of water. Again, it depends on the size and capacity of the water softener. So you get the answer for how much water does a water softener use?
How much salt does a water softener use
Typically, in a house with 1 person a 30,000-grain water softener will use one 50 pound bag of salt every 5 to 6 weeks and a house with 4 people a 45,000 or 60,000 grain unit will use a little less.
Final Words:
A lot of people all around the globe are facing hard water issues. Water softeners are life savers in such cases. It would be wrong to say that water softener WASTES gallons of water. Rather water softener utilizes gallons of water for its deep cleaning and re-activation purpose.