From: dougl@mail.boi.hp.com (Doug Leno)
Subject: Re: water purification
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 18:09:22 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Hewlett-Packard / Boise, Idaho
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]

Deepak S. Gianchandani (giand@opencon.com) wrote:

: What he said was that the Water Softer itself had a cycle which would
: remove some of the salt from the water.  Furthermore, after talking a

	There is no salt in the water to remove.
                   
: while he told us that there was  modified "salt" out there which was

        you can use potassium chloride or sodium chloride, but I'm not aware of
        any "modified salt".

: expensive, $25.00 a bag vs. $9.00 a bag or so which would put close to

        sodium chloride is available locally for $3.50 per 40 lbs.  Potassium
        Chloride is available locally for 8.00 per 40 lbs.

: none to 5mg of salt in a glass of water vs 30mg to 50mg (they usually

        Both potassium chloride and sodium chloride are salts, and neither one
        adds any "salt" to your water.

The  salesman has demonstrated that he knows virtually nothing about how water
softeners work.  I've noticed that there are alot of salesman who can spew
forth mountains of garbage having little or no resemblance to reality.
Apparently, it's a language that salesman learn - and the water softener
industry is stricken with many who have learned it.

First, a properly operating ion-exchange water softener does not introduce ANY
salt or brine into your water.  Yes, brine is used to recharge the resin bed
to replenish the supply of sodium ions but it is ALL washed down the drain
during the rinse cycle (not just some of it).

As for the modified salt story, well, its a mixture of truth and gibberish.
Remember there is no salt in anyone's soft water.  However, the reason most
people are concerned about salt is because of sodium, which is in fact
introduced into your water as a consequence of the softening process.
Ion-exchange water softeners work by exchanging hard mineral ions in your
water for sodium ions in the resin bed.  The sodium ions get into the
resin bed as a result of the brine wash recharge cycle.

Ok, now that we're talking about sodium in your water and not salt, Lets
straighten out the 30 mg to 50mg statement:  The amount of sodium introduced
into your water as a result of the softening process depends upon the hardness
of your water!  If your water is "15 grain hard" and mine is "8 grain hard"
then (when softened) you will have approximately twice as much sodium in your
water than I - even if we used identical softeners.  Similarly, if you got a
new softer, it would put the same amount of sodium into your water as the old
one, provided your water didn't change and the old softener was working right.

Some time ago, I had my water (both hard and softened) analyzed.  According to
the hardness measurement and the conversion factor I posted earlier, my
"15-grain" hard water contained 256 mg of "hard" minerals and zero sodium -
yet my softened water contained 640 mg of sodium, or about 40 mg per 8 oz
glass.  Note that the figure your salesman gave you (30-50 mg) corresponds to
fairly hard water.  Don't apply the 40 mg figure to your situation unless your
water contains 15 grains per gallon.  A rather loose rule of thumb says that
the amount (in mg) of sodium introduced into your water is roughly equal to
twice the grains of hardness.  In other words, 15 grains => 30 mg.

To put the 40 mg of Sodium in perspective, just read the nutritional analysis
information on most product labels - Most people consume thousands of mg of
sodium per day.  The idea behind comparing it with milk (I've never checked
it's sodium content) was probably intended to demonstrate that 40 mg of Sodium
is no big deal.  Check V8 or corn flakes if you want more high-sodium things
to compare.

For those who must or wish to carefully watch their consumption of sodium, you
can choose to soften your water, not with sodium chloride, but with potassium
chloride.  The principle is the same as the use of potassium chloride
(salt-substitute) at the dinner table - you get the action of a "salt" without
the drawbacks of sodium.  I believe this is what your salesman referred to as
"modified salt".  I don't really understand the "none to 5 mg" statement,
unless he is referring to an impure potassium chloride product that contains
some sodium chloride.  Locally, there is a product called, "K-life" that is
something like 99+% pure.  With < 1% sodium chloride this product would
introduce less than 1/2 of one milligram of sodium into an 8 oz glass of water.
It will introduce 30 - 50 mg of potassium instead.


Doug

--
Doug Leno                                    Hewlett Packard Company
Manufacturing Engineering                    11413 Chinden Blvd
Heads and Media                              Boise, Idaho  83714
Disk Memory Division                         (208) 323-3693
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