The greenest water treatment product available is the water softener. Although much maligned since the 1970s, water softeners are green not because of what they put into the environment but because of what they prevent from going into the environment.
On one side of the equation we see that salt is used as a regenerant, and we must acknowledge the fact that water softeners discharge salt, but let us be honest of where salt truly comes from - sea water or natural occurring underground deposits. A true water softener will be discharging extra amounts of this natural product into the environment, and for some areas this has become a concern because of possibly misplaced fears of salt.
On the other side of the equation we see that salt softened water PREVENTS the discharge of many things into the environment. Please take an opportunity to read the labels of some of the clothes and dish washing detergents that you use in your home. There are some long chemical names on those side panels and by using a water softener you will reduce the amounts of those items being discharged from your home by 75 percent.
Next, look at your water using appliances, especially your dishwasher and clothes washer. These items will last twice as long when you change your home from hard to soft water. It helps at this point to look at your appliances a little differently than with your eyes. You must overlay in your imagination all of the materials and petroleum energy that were used to produce, ship, market, deliver, and install those things in your home. Besides compact fluorescent bulbs, can you imagine anywhere else in your life that you can get a 100 percent boost in energy efficiency? And this doesn't even take into account the fact that these appliances will also function and clean better with fewer breakdowns (another energy saver - fewer repair visits).
Lastly, look at your water heater. Soft water makes this big energy user 16 percent more effective by preventing scaling on the hot surfaces inside the heater. Scaling in a water heater is a rock insulator that prevents the heat from the heat source from reaching the water. By preventing this scale from forming in a water heater it remains as efficient to the last day of its life as it was on its first day. This appliance will also last much longer when water entering it is softened, again reducing production and other energy and material usage.
You can read more about this here: http://www.wqa.org/pdf/external_uploads/Battelle_Final_Report.pdf?CFID=6981696&CFTOKEN=84128441
See my website at www.cleanwaterman.com
On one side of the equation we see that salt is used as a regenerant, and we must acknowledge the fact that water softeners discharge salt, but let us be honest of where salt truly comes from - sea water or natural occurring underground deposits. A true water softener will be discharging extra amounts of this natural product into the environment, and for some areas this has become a concern because of possibly misplaced fears of salt.
On the other side of the equation we see that salt softened water PREVENTS the discharge of many things into the environment. Please take an opportunity to read the labels of some of the clothes and dish washing detergents that you use in your home. There are some long chemical names on those side panels and by using a water softener you will reduce the amounts of those items being discharged from your home by 75 percent.
Next, look at your water using appliances, especially your dishwasher and clothes washer. These items will last twice as long when you change your home from hard to soft water. It helps at this point to look at your appliances a little differently than with your eyes. You must overlay in your imagination all of the materials and petroleum energy that were used to produce, ship, market, deliver, and install those things in your home. Besides compact fluorescent bulbs, can you imagine anywhere else in your life that you can get a 100 percent boost in energy efficiency? And this doesn't even take into account the fact that these appliances will also function and clean better with fewer breakdowns (another energy saver - fewer repair visits).
Lastly, look at your water heater. Soft water makes this big energy user 16 percent more effective by preventing scaling on the hot surfaces inside the heater. Scaling in a water heater is a rock insulator that prevents the heat from the heat source from reaching the water. By preventing this scale from forming in a water heater it remains as efficient to the last day of its life as it was on its first day. This appliance will also last much longer when water entering it is softened, again reducing production and other energy and material usage.
You can read more about this here: http://www.wqa.org/pdf/external_uploads/Battelle_Final_Report.pdf?CFID=6981696&CFTOKEN=84128441
See my website at www.cleanwaterman.com
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