[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: Tankless HW and hard water

[Bruce Donelson]

The new county water system I am moving to has 252 mg/L or 15 gr/gal
hardness, mostly CaCO3.  That's pretty hard.  I am going to put a water
softener on the hot water side only.  I don't know much about softeners,
but I know they use salt and make some waste brine.  I wonder if this is
bad for the sewer lagoon? How much energy do these things use?  Are they
another environmental nightmare, and is there an alternative?


--Lawrence Lile

You are exchanging the Ca++ for Sodium ions in the softener. HOt side only
might not be so bad. But sodium tends to be excessive in most people's
diets, while Calcium seems to be more nutritious. So there might be health
risks associated with drinking the softened water, aside from environmental
considerations.

Bruce Donelson