Can you drink softened water?

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Bananaboyandy

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I am moving into a new home and the city water is very hard. I've decided on going with a Fleck 7000sxt based on everything I've read on the forum. My questions revolves around the ability to drink softened water. Some posts that I have read indicates that "softened" water has a salty taste. Do I need to run the softened water through another filter at my sink faucet so my family can have good tasting clean water to drink?
 

Reach4

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Soft water normally does not have a salty taste, although it will contain more salt than unsoftened water.

Water with 1000 ppm salt or less is classified as fresh water. However http://www.***********.com/drinking_soft_water.htm thinks that may be too much. If you want to get rid of the sodium, you could use a reverse osmosis filter. If you use an RO filter, you should feed that with soft water. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/water-salinity-d_1251.html has more info

If your water going into the softener is good to drink, you could pipe that water to your kitchen sink for drinking. I am thinking of doing that. That would not be so good for those who use the water softener for iron removal.
 

Bananaboyandy

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Do you think there would be a noticeable pressure drop with the RO filter? I have the ability to install a second faucet where there is a cut out for a soap dispenser.
 

Reach4

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Yes, there is a big pressure drop. In fact, it is often the case that the system will include a booster pump. Home units typically only make 25 to 50 gallons per day max, and that is not something that would happen for real. They are used with their own pressure tank to feed the faucet. You would want to look for on with a bigger ("4 gallon") if you want to have a gallon ready at a time. Commonly they can only produce maybe a quart from the pressure tank at a time. These can go under a kitchen sink, but they can also be located in the basement below. Only the polyethylene line should be run to the faucet. The kits only come with enough line to run from under the sink. RO water is actually harder on metal pipes than water with minerals in it.

Normally there is about 4 gallons of pre-treated water used for each gallon of output. That is usually not a big deal for those with a well.

I have not picked one out, and I am not sure I need it. Picking one that uses commonly available filters will normally be more economical. Some systems have a cartridge after the RO membrane to put calcium and magnesium back into the water for drinking. RO water is supposedly not as palatable as water with some minerals in it. RO water is really good for cleaning your computer screen and rinsing your eyeglasses. Search for more info.
 

Jadnashua

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RO water pretty much has no taste...it tastes flat. Because it contains only miniscule amounts of minerals and impurities, it is VERY aggressive on metals and things. There's a reason why people like spring water...it has a mix of minerals and things in it. For most people, soft water isn't a health issue. As noted, RO filters run a lot of water down the drain for each unit it produces that is clean.
 

Bananaboyandy

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Thanks, all good information. One last question. My fridge also has a water dispenser and its own filter. Do you think the filter that comes with the fridge would do an adequate job passing the softened water through it that it would still be good to drink? I have to do a little more research to see what kind of filter it is and what it filters out but this might be the preferred approach.
 

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The filter on the freezer will pass soft water through no problem.

Reverse osmosis water would make clearer ice cubes, but it is not a big deal. The amount of salt in the softened water will not be noticeable unless you have very unusual water. Softened water will tend to not have your plumbing lime up over time, so in that respect it will be better.
 

Lifespeed

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I have very hard water also. This means there is significant sodium in the softened water which also means pretty high TDS. While you can drink it, it may not be such a good idea long-term, and I don't like the taste. RO filters are inexpensive and the water tastes great! I would recommend an under-sink RO with a permeate pump. The permeate pump uses water pressure (no electricity) to pump water across the RO membrane resulting in less waste water and better filtering. You want to feed the RO filter softened water. It will remove the sodium, and the softened water won't foul the membrane like hard water.

Then you just install a filtered water tap in your sink for drinking or cooking, and run a polyethylene line to your fridge, removing it's internal filter. Always use poly-E not copper as the pure water is aggressive. If you want higher flow rates get the 3/8" tubing option instead of the typical 1/4". Obviously you won't get flow rates like your kitchen faucet, but it will be fine for drinking and cooking.
 
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ditttohead

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Agree with LifeSpeed on this one,

RO water does not taste "flat". There is a lot more to it than a simple blanket statement. RO water is also not "Very aggrsssive". RO water can taste flat, and it can be mildly agressive. Most modern RO systems use a simple GAC post filter to "sweeten" the waters taste. Other companies will add a remineralization filter to enhance the flavor, but most RO systems do not need this. Most bottled water companies use RO to make their water then simply add a few trace amounts of minerals to "enhance" the flavor, but most people could not tell the difference.

Softeners do not add common salt (NACL) into the water, they add sodium. The chloride levels basically remain the same unless you are also using some sort of Anion resin for sulfate, tannin, or nitrate removal, then you will see an increase in the chloride levels too.

My suggestion, Softener for whole house, RO for drinking cooking, ice maker. The RO water as a general rule should not go through metal plumbing because it has the potential to damage it over time. A simple calcite post filter can be used to lessen this potential and can also be added to add flavor if the water does not taste like you think it should.
 

DonL

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Softened water is safe to drink.

City water is another story.


When the water tower and sewer treatment plant are at the same location, You should boil your water.


Happy Holidays to all.
 

Jacobsond

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Ive been drinking softened water for 20+yrs. I dont believe the hype about not drinking softened water.If you do get a RO dont run it to your icemaker or fridge unless you have a booster pump to get the pressure up.The water valves on fridges tend to leak a little with low water pressure.I would just put a good softener in and have a fridge with a filter and call it good.
 
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ditttohead

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A reverse osmosis should be fed to the ice-maker but you are correct, the pressure can be a problem if the RO is not correctly applied. A Permeate pump will basically make the water pressure to the ice-maker be the same, with or without an RO. A standard RO system without Permeate pump shuts off the water at 50-60% of line pressure which can be problematic if your water pressure is below 60 PSI.
 

Reach4

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Would a permiate pump be a better choice than an electric pump?
 

ditttohead

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They are totally different. A booster pump is typically recommended if your water is less then 40 PSI. A permeate pump is used to increase the systems efficiency and the tanks capacity/pressure. We sell a lot of systems with both permeate and booster pumps.

A booster pump on a system with 50+ PSI is a waste.
http://www.aquatec.com/permeate-pumps.html
 

Reach4

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If they were totally different, you would sell some home systems with both. :) I doubt that happens, even for a well system set to 30..50 PSI.

They both increase the pressure on the membrane, which speeds up the process getting product water without increasing waste water.

I think either or neither could each be reasonably considered for a 40..60 PSI well, but I suspect that one pump has an advantage over the other for reliability or possibly some other consideration (other than the obvious that the electric pump requires wiring power).

"Zero waste" reverse osmosis would not make sense for me; I have plenty of water.
 

Gary Slusser

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The added sodium in softened water is 7.85 mg/l (about a quart) per gpg of compensated hardness removed. I.E. 20 gpg * 7.85 = 157 mg/l of added sodium PER QUART.

A lot of people may think that is a lot of sodium.... but compared to common beverages and food, it isn't. V8 juice has some 500+ mg of sodium per 8 oz glass. So look at labels for Sodium (per serving) of what you eat and drink for real world figures. Or read this;

http://umaine.edu/publications/4059e/
 

Lifespeed

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Ive been drinking softened water for 20+yrs. I dont believe the hype about not drinking softened water.If you do get a RO dont run it to your icemaker or fridge unless you have a booster pump to get the pressure up.The water valves on fridges tend to leak a little with low water pressure.I would just put a good softener in and have a fridge with a filter and call it good.

That is something of a generalization. Softened water sodium content (and taste) can vary widely. Softened water from a 30 GPG source like I have contains a lot more sodium than softened water from a 5 GPG source. While that amount of sodium may nor may not be a health issue depending on your particular situation, I can tell you my softened water does not taste good!

So I use an RO for drinking and fridge (zero problems with my fridge leaking, BTW). Saves considerable money compared to the over-priced carbon cartridge fridge filters too, which aren't that effective compared to RO.

Everybody's situation (and water) is different.
 

Gary Slusser

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Good water has no taste, it's things in the water that gives it a good or bad taste which is an individual thing...

And most all waters have an amount of sodium in them and most people can't taste it raw water or in softened water. I have seen high sodium in raw water with little hardness in it and next to none in very hard water. My record for hardness is 136 gpg and the home owners and I could not say that the softened water tasted salty.
 

Reach4

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1495189/ published 2001 has some good info on municipal tap water, well waters, and bottled waters. It is more readable than your average scholarly article.

Information included discussion of calcium and magnesium (generally good to drink) as well as sodium (varies). It tends to make me want to drink unsoftened (but filtered) water from my well-- keeping calcium and magnesium sounds good. I will continue to use softened water for my automated coffee maker to prevent deposits.

Some cities, including Phoenix had over 100 mg/L (PPM) sodium in the municipal tap water.
 
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