Our installations are guaranteed free from error with a full parts and labor warranty for, so you will feel safe knowing that no further expenses will be incurred from a faulty installation.

Bypass Valve

A lot of water softeners come with a bypass valve that lets you direct water away from your system. If your unit has one of these devices in place, you can basically turn your softener “off,” without disrupting the flow of water into your home. Using the bypass valve is easy when you know what to check. First, just look for the set of pipes that connect to your water softener. (One pipe brings water into the unit so it can be softened. The other pipe sends the soft water into your home.) Next, locate the third pipe between the inlet and outlet pipes—that’s your bypass valve. It should have a knob or a handle that you can twist to open the bypass setting.

Reasons to Bypass Your Water Softener

There are a couple good reasons for using your unit’s bypass valve. During the summer months, it can be a great tool for making your water softener more efficient. If your unit treats all incoming water, you can save some money on softener salt by using the bypass valve when you run you’ll be using a lot of water outside. Since you don’t necessarily need to use soft water for your landscaping and yard work, the bypass setting can give your system a break without limiting your water usage.

The other reason to use your bypass valve is for water softener repair services. If your unit is acting up and you’re not sure why, you don’t have to go straight to your main water line—just use your bypass valve. That way, you can still get water into your home. The bypass valve is important because it can prevent problems from getting worse. (Especially for leaks!) If you direct water away from your unit, then you can help keep any issues in check until a water softener repair expert can help you out.

Drink Water

Bypass the softener for drinking water

A water softener installation is usually accompanied with a drinking water tap. This tap bypasses the water softener, meaning you are able to choose to drink non-softened water from that tap if you prefer.

What is a water softener?

When water contains a significant amount of calcium and magnesium, it is called hard water. Hard water is known to clog pipes and to complicate soap and detergent dissolving in water.
Water softening is a technique that serves the removal of the ions that cause the water to be hard, in most cases calcium and magnesium ions. Iron ions may also be removed during softening.
The best way to soften water is to use a water softener unit and connect it directly to the water supply. A water softener is a unit that is used to soften water, by removing the minerals that cause the water to be hard.

What is hard water?

When water is referred to as ‘hard’ this simply means, that it contains more minerals than ordinary water. These are especially the minerals calcium and magnesium. The degree of hardness of the water increases, when more calcium and magnesium dissolves. Magnesium and calcium are positively charged ions. Because of their presence, other positively charged ions will dissolve less easily in hard water than in water that does not contain calcium and magnesium. This is the cause of the fact that soap doesn’t really dissolve in hard water.

Why is water softening applied?

Water softening is an important process, because the hardness of water in households and companies is reduced during this process.
When water is hard, it can clog pipes and soap will dissolve in it less easily. Water softening can prevent these negative effects.
Hard water causes a higher risk of lime scale deposits in household water systems. Due to this lime scale build-up, pipes are blocked, and the efficiency of hot boilers and tanks is reduced. This increases the cost of domestic water heating by about fifteen to twenty percent. Another negative effect of lime scale is that it has damaging effects on household machinery, such as laundry machines. Water softening means expanding the life span of household machine, such as laundry machines, and the life span of pipelines. It also contributes to the improved working, and longer lifespan of solar heating systems, air conditioning units and many other water-based applications.

What does a water softener do?

Water softeners are specific ion exchangers that are designed to remove ions, which are positively charged.
Softeners mainly remove calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions. Calcium and magnesium are often referred to as ‘hardness minerals’.
Softeners are sometimes even applied to remove iron. The softening devices are able to remove up to five milligrams per litter (5 mg/L) of dissolved iron.
Softeners can operate automatic, semi-automatic, or manual. Each type is rated on the amount of hardness it can remove before regeneration is necessary.

A water softener collects hardness minerals within its conditioning tank and from time to time flushes them away to drain.
Ion exchangers are often used for water softening. When an ion exchanger is applied for water softening, it will replace the calcium and magnesium ions in the water with other ions, for instance sodium or potassium. The exchanger ions are added to the ion exchanger reservoir as sodium and potassium salts (NaCl and KCl).

How often should one add salt to a softener?

Salt is usually added to the reservoir during regeneration of the softener. The more often a softener is regenerated, the more often salt needs to be added.
Usually water softeners are checked once a month. To guarantee a satisfactory production of soft water, the salt level should be kept at least half-full at all times.

Is softened water safe to drink?

If the water hardness is below 400 ppm calcium, then you can drink it. If your water hardness exceeds 400 ppm, then you will have to install a reverse osmosis water filter to remove the mineral in order to reduce the sodium content in the soft water. That way, you will be able to drink the softened water.

Can salt from softening installations enter drinking water?

Salt does not have the opportunity to enter drinking water through softening installations.
The only purpose of salt in a water softener is to regenerate the resin beads that take the hardness out of water.

How much sodium does one absorb from softened water?

The sodium uptake through softened water depends on the hardness of the water. Averagely, less than 3% sodium uptake comes from drinking softened water.
Estimates say that a person consumes about two to three teaspoons of salt a day, from various sources. Assuming a daily intake of five grams of sodium through food and the consumption of three quarts of water, the contribution of sodium (Na+) in the water from the home water softening process, is minimal compared to the total daily intake of many sodium-rich foods.

Will softening drinking water deprive it of essential minerals?

Softening will not deprive water of its essential minerals. Softening only deprives drinking water of minerals that cause the water to be hard, such as calcium, magnesium and iron.