I live in San Jose and my faucets and shower heads have calcium deposit. I have replaced a couple of faucets because they got so bad over the years. Now I see the deposits on the "new" faucets (over a year old). I'm considering a Water Conditioner or Water Softener. I do have Hypertension so I'm leaning towards the Water Conditioner. What would be a good brand? What would be the pros and cons vs. a water softener?
Thanks in advance,
SL

 

It sounds as if you think a conditioner isn't going to use 'salt' to regenerate with, but they do. A conditioner is a softener with something more than just cation resin in it; many tiems that is carbon/charcoal which isn't a good idea because at some point the carbon will require replacement regardless of what the salesperson said. So... both use sodium or potassium chloride and a standard softener is what I suggest you look for.

As to sodium content, softening adds 7.85 mg/l per grain of hardness. A liter is slightly smaller than a quart. So unless your water is extremely very hard, the softener won't be adding much sodium t oa glass of water and if you compare to sodium content in other drinks/foods, you'll see a much larger amount per serving in them. So if you are concerned about sodium uptake check the foods you eat.

As to what softener... I'll suggest any using the Clack WS-1 control valve. You can find them by doiing a google search. Another would be any using the Fleck 7000 control valve. You'll need to know how hard your water is and then properly size a softener for your plumbing flow rate.

Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2