Is A Potassium Chloride Water Softener An Environmentally-friendly Option?

There are several advantages to using a potassium chloride water softener as an alternative to salt. Although salt has been used in water softening for many years, it is now known that using sodium to replace calcium and magnesium is not necessarily good for the environment.

The issue lies in the waste water that is drained from the softener’s tank. Draining this salty brine into sewer and septic systems on a regular basis adds sodium to ground water. Excess sodium hinders plant growth and can negatively impact agricultural areas, which also happen to be areas in which many homes have private wells, so water softeners are commonplace.

Sodium in the ground water can also make its way into fish streams, lakes and rivers where it can upset the delicate ecological balance of those waters. Many states are actually considering a ban on water softeners for this reason.

While sodium is a commonly used and effective method of softening water, it isn’t the only way. There are several salt-free methods of softening water. One method is the use of electromagnetic or magnetic energy to change the composition of the water. By attaching a small device to the outside of the pipe, you can create an energy field that the water must pass through. The electromagnetic field changes the calcium, forcing it to remain in liquid form rather than solidifying and sticking to everything it touches.

Keeping the calcium in liquid form prevents scale from forming and also gives you the added benefit of having calcium in your drinking water, which actually isn’t bad for you at all. There are two types of devices that can do this; one works through the use of electricity and the other uses powerful magnets.

A potassium chloride water softener is another salt-free method of softening water. It is available in crystal form that can be used in place of salt in any water softener, or it can be mixed with the salt to reduce the amount of sodium used. Potassium chloride is a metal halide salt with no odor, composed of chlorine and potassium. When used in a water softening unit, it achieves the same result as salt without introducing massive amounts of sodium to sewage systems.

It softens the water the same way that salt does, except instead of adding sodium ions to the water it adds potassium ions. Potassium is a healthy thing to have in your drinking water and plants love it too, so even the waste water from a potassium chloride water softener is beneficial to the environment, particularly in agricultural areas.

One drawback of using potassium chloride as a water softener is that it is more expensive than salt. However, in the grand scheme of things, you have to consider what is most important to you: your health and the health of the environment, or saving a few dollars. After all, there are always other ways to save money that can offset the cost of making a healthy choice in your water softener.