Is there are ECO-friendly alternative to SALT softeners?
***
"ECO-friendly"?
Salt is "natural", and not unfriendly.
Some plants like salty water, but most do not.
Salt is necessary for life, but too much ( of anything ) is harmful.
To be more specific:
You can use Potassium Chloride ( a type of salt ) instead of Sodium Chloride ( common "salt" ) to regenerate the resins in the tank. This regeneration is required to "charge" the beads with a strong negative ion charge. With this negative charge, the resins are able to attract and remove positive ion molecules ( calcium, magnesium, iron, etc ) from the water.
See:
The only other methods for removing these from your water are Distilling, or Reverse Osmosis. Both of these two processes require equipment that is very expensive and operate by producing "pure" water slowly, requiring large storage tanks, and re-pressurization pumps to feed your home with the water produced. Also, this water is so "pure", it is slightly corrosive, and commonly some "hardness" minerals need to be reintroduced to prevent corrosion of the metal plumbing in the home.
There are also advertised some "salt free" systems on the market. They do not remove the hardness minerals, nor iron from the water. The "catalytic" process does not give all the benefits of "ion exchange" softeners, and most people are not happy with the results provided by these system ( which have been around in one form or another for decades ). I have only talked to the dissatisfied consumers who had to get their money back, and have a "real" water softener installed.
Believe me, if I knew of a "better way" to soften water that did not use any type of Salt ( NaCl or KCl ), I'd be selling it and promoting it. I always check out "the latest" and "newest way" to treat water, and so far nothing has been developed to replace the ion exchange method of softening water.
And the "salt discharged" from the softeners is only a problem is you drain it out into your yard, where it can cause some plants to die. If this is a concern, then you can use the more expensive ( and 90% as efficient ) "salt substitute" Potassium Chloride ( KCl ), instead of Sodium Chloride. The Potassium acts as a "fertilizer", and is less harmful to plant life.
It should also be noted here, that most water naturally contains some level of salts.
To understand Salt better, SEE:
***
