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Water Conditioner vs. Water Softener: What’s The Difference?

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From unpleasant colors, tastes and odors to quality concerns to mineral buildup, there are all kinds of water problems, each with an associated solution. Unfortunately, sorting through these different types of solutions can be confusing.

If you are concerned about hard water, for example, one question likely to come up is around the difference between a “water conditioner” and a “water softener.” Simply put, water conditioning refers to any kind of improvement made by a water treatment system. That means conditioning can include water filtration, softening or both.

Beyond that simple answer, there’s more detail to help you understand the different approaches to water treatment and what’s best for your home. Let’s take a look at water conditioning and water softening to identify differences, similarities and — perhaps most importantly — what they both mean for your home water quality.

Are Water Softening and Conditioning Different?

The most important thing to know about the difference between water softening and water conditioning is that they’re not really two different approaches.

As noted above, water conditioning refers to any type of treatment intended to increase water quality. Water softening, on the other hand, is a specific process used to treat water hardness. In this process, hard minerals like calcium and magnesium are trapped and flushed out, leaving soft water behind.

Remember it this way: All water softeners are conditioners, but not all water conditioners are softeners.

What Is a Salt-Free Water Conditioner?

Based on the explanation above, you would think that a salt-free water conditioner is just any kind of water treatment system that doesn’t use salt. However, because salt is a core ingredient in traditional water softening processes, this term typically refers to a specific type of system used for hard water problems.

First, keep in mind that a “salt-based water softener” is just a regular softener. That’s because the softening process uses a brine solution to help flush away the calcium and magnesium that cause hard water. If a system doesn’t have this element, it’s not technically a softener — so “salt-free water softener” isn’t an accurate term. Instead, what you get is a salt-free water conditioner, which uses different processes to address hard water concerns.

Compare and Contrast: Water Softener vs. Salt-Free Water Conditioner

While the terminology is helpful, it’s perhaps more important to understand what these systems do and how they work. Here’s a closer look:

Water Softeners

Generally speaking, water softeners work by using a magnet-like process to trap and retain hard minerals and then flush them out of the system. This happens in two areas: the main tank and the brine tank.

Hard water is full of positively charged calcium and magnesium ions. When these ions flow into the softener’s main tank, they’re attracted to negatively charged resin beads, which are about as big as the tip of a ball-point pen. The water flows through the tank freely, but the minerals are left behind — so soft water flows out of the system and to the rest of your home.

Eventually, the resin beads will become so covered in negative ions that they can’t attract any more. At this point, the softener requires regeneration. In this process, salt water from the brine tank flows into the main tank and rinses the resin beads, flushing away the minerals so they don’t end up back in your water supply.

Most softeners regenerate based on set times or water usage amounts, which can lead to more frequent regeneration than necessary. For more efficient operation, many Culligan water softeners have technology that monitors the condition of the resin and triggers regeneration only when necessary. Systems also are available with smart features that put you in full control of the softening process, enabling you to customize your water’s feel, bypass areas that don’t need soft water, set automatic salt replacement reminders and more.

Explore water softening solutions here.

Salt-Free Water Conditioners

The softening process removes hardness minerals, but the salt-free conditioning process leaves them behind. Although this means your water won’t technically be softened, the good news is that salt-free systems have a different method for addressing certain hard water problems.

Salt-free conditioners work by changing the physical structure of the water. They crystalize the calcium and magnesium, making the ions less adhesive and easier to break apart. This means you may still have certain hard water problems, including limescale and soap spots on dishes and fixtures, but you’ll have an easier time cleaning them away.

It’s important to note that salt-free conditioners have one crucial strength, and it’s right in their name: These systems don’t use salt. As such, they’re likely allowed in areas with brine restrictions, making them a great alternative when a traditional water softener won’t work out.

Other benefits of a salt-free water conditioning system for brine-restricted areas include:

  • No electricity: Unlike softeners, these systems don’t use power because they don’t have a regeneration process.
  • No wastewater: Salt-free conditioners don’t flush out salt water and hardness minerals, which means they don’t create wastewater.
  • No salt replacements: There’s no need to schedule salt deliveries or keep track of salt levels with these systems.

Recognizing Hard Water Problems

The solutions and water softening benefits may look different, but the issues are often the same: Hard water symptoms are frustrating and get worse over time. However, not all of them are immediately obvious. Let’s take a look at the biggest signs that you have a hard water problem:

Water Spots

If your dishes come out of the dishwasher with flaky white spots, calcium and magnesium are likely to blame. Sometimes called “soap spots,” these blemishes can also gather on your bathroom glass and fixtures.

Limescale

Limescale is an unpleasant buildup of minerals often found in sinks, bathtubs and showers. It’s difficult to break up, especially if you’re still using hard water, because the mineral content sticks to itself.

Appliance Issues

That same mineral buildup can coat the insides of your home’s water-using appliances, potentially leading to reduced lifetime, efficiency and more.

Reduced Water Pressure

Limescale can also live inside your home’s plumbing. The buildup reduces water flow through your pipes, resulting in low water pressure.

Hair, Skin and Nail Problems

Dissolved minerals don’t just build up around your home. They can stick to your hair, skin and nails and block your body’s natural moisture, leading to dryness, irritation and discomfort.

What About Water Filtration?

As you research water conditioning, remember that water filtration and softening/salt-free conditioning are separate processes. They all fall under the “conditioning” umbrella; however, generally speaking, only the former addresses potential contaminants in your water supply.* That means softened water isn’t the same as filtered water — but you may want to do both.

The truth is that hard water minerals and contaminants like iron, total dissolved solids (TDS) and even “forever chemicals” can (and often do) coexist. Fortunately, water treatment solutions can do the same. Softening and filtration systems complement each other, giving you more control over your water quality throughout your home. All you have to do is choose the right solutions — and to do that, you’ll need to start with water testing.

A professional water test will help you determine three key things:

  • Water hardness levels: The harder your water is, the harder your softener will have to work. Water testing measures this and gives you all the necessary facts to make an informed decision.
  • Contaminants: Your test results will also include details about what’s really in your tap water, checking for common contaminants associated with health concerns or taste, odor and color issues.
  • Solutions: Using this information, your local water expert will recommend a combination of solutions that fits your unique needs.

Handle Hard Water The Right Way

Whether you need softening, salt-free conditioning, filtration or a combination of water treatment solutions, your first step is to gather all the right information. You’ve already made great progress by learning the terminology; now you’re ready to find how this applies to your own water quality — and that means it’s time for a water test.

Get started today by scheduling your free, in-home water test and consultation.

*Contaminants may not be present in your water.

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