The Way a Water Softener Works
The basic operation of a water softener system starts with
the water coming into the house. The water comes into the house and goes
through a bypass valve which is used to shut off the water if you ever need to
work on something. The water then goes through a valve on the top of the water
softener into a mechanical head that has many O-rings inside of it that move
back and forth allowing water to go into resin and out of resin that is used to
soften the water. The hard water containing the minerals calcium and magnesium
are positively charged ions that go through resin beads in the brine tank which
is negatively charged ions. Since opposites attract, the positively charged
ions known as minerals bind themselves to the negatively charged ions known as
sodium.
Regeneration Process
Once the resin beads are covered with too many minerals the water softener will enter a process known as a regeneration process. This cycle is made up of three stages, the backwash, the recharge, and the rinse. The backwash phase is when water flows backwards to wash off any dirt or sediment in the tank. During the recharge phase, water that is mixed with salt flows backwards through the tank and wash is all the minerals off of the resin beads. The rinse phase washes off all the brine and sends it down the drain then refills the tank. I know this seems like a confusing process but it’s really not. All you are really doing is taking water filled with salt ions and switching them out for mineral ions and then washing them down the drain.
Regeneration Process
Once the resin beads are covered with too many minerals the water softener will enter a process known as a regeneration process. This cycle is made up of three stages, the backwash, the recharge, and the rinse. The backwash phase is when water flows backwards to wash off any dirt or sediment in the tank. During the recharge phase, water that is mixed with salt flows backwards through the tank and wash is all the minerals off of the resin beads. The rinse phase washes off all the brine and sends it down the drain then refills the tank. I know this seems like a confusing process but it’s really not. All you are really doing is taking water filled with salt ions and switching them out for mineral ions and then washing them down the drain.