Tom Sawyer
In the Trades
We talk about salt efficiency and water efficiency a lot on this forum. Nobody wants to spend more money than they have too, or negatively impact the environment either. In many areas of the country water use and conservation are big issues. Still, hard water is difficult to live with for a variety of reasons so folks install equipment to take care of their problems. There is a science to ion exchange treatment and though I could type half a book here I think that this link is a better place to start http://www.watertreatmentguide.com/achieving_brine_efficiency_in_softening.htm
After reading through that remember that true efficiency starts with reducing water use. Low flow shower heads. Flow restrictors on faucets and 1.6 lpf toilets all do their part in reducing water consumption. Remember that any softener is sized according to a formula that takes into account the number of users in the home and the average amount of water they use. ( except for easy water and zeta rod which only take into account how much money is in your bank account ) If we can reduce that consumption, we can use smaller equipment, less salt and less water. Habits also need to be changed. 20 minute showers times 3 people in the home can use as much as 300 gallons of water with 5gpm shower heads. Even with 2 gpm heads the use is still 120 gallons. One of the dumbest things the industry has ever pitched is these room sized showers with multiple heads and rain showers with lights and music. It's a shower. Get in and get out. Make sure hose bibs and irrigation equipment are not on the softener either. Americans tend to not like having to make lifestyle changes but the real key to efficiency is always going to be to reduce use as much as possible.
After reading through that remember that true efficiency starts with reducing water use. Low flow shower heads. Flow restrictors on faucets and 1.6 lpf toilets all do their part in reducing water consumption. Remember that any softener is sized according to a formula that takes into account the number of users in the home and the average amount of water they use. ( except for easy water and zeta rod which only take into account how much money is in your bank account ) If we can reduce that consumption, we can use smaller equipment, less salt and less water. Habits also need to be changed. 20 minute showers times 3 people in the home can use as much as 300 gallons of water with 5gpm shower heads. Even with 2 gpm heads the use is still 120 gallons. One of the dumbest things the industry has ever pitched is these room sized showers with multiple heads and rain showers with lights and music. It's a shower. Get in and get out. Make sure hose bibs and irrigation equipment are not on the softener either. Americans tend to not like having to make lifestyle changes but the real key to efficiency is always going to be to reduce use as much as possible.
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