How Often Water Softener Regenerate
Regeneration is when the resin (part of the softener that traps the magnesium and calcium ions from hard water) is cleaned, by releasing the refuse salts into the drain. How often water softener regenerates, depends on the configuration.
Why It Happens
To understand why regeneration happens, you have to understand a little of how the softener works. In an ion-exchanger, what happens is basically what the name itself suggests-ion exchange. The salt you put in the softener is mainly composed of sodium. Sodium, in water, is an ion that doesn’t cause hardness.
The ion-exchanger has a structure that allows ion exchange to occur between hard water and sodium in the salt. The salt releases its sodium ions into the water and bonds with the magnesium and calcium ions from the water. This leaves the water free from magnesium and calcium, the hardness-causing ions.
All this happens in the resin. Once regeneration is triggered, either manually or automatically, this whole process happens and the softened water goes to the reservoir.
Time-Initiated Regeneration
In this kind of configuration, the regeneration is triggered by a clock on the control valve. The control valve is what controls the regeneration process, telling the softener when to regenerate (the valve is like the softener’s brain).
The softener is normally set to regenerate after a specific number of days and at a time of day when water usage is at its lowest. In case of a situation where regeneration begins as water is being used, say in the shower, the softener avails untreated water via an internal bypass feature.
The time interval between regenerations is determined by how much water you use and the capacity of your reservoir. For example, if you use 300 gallons a day and your reservoir can hold 2400 gallons, then if a single regeneration could fill up the reservoir that means you’ll have more than enough water for a week (300 gallons * 7 days = 2100gallons). This means you will need to schedule a regeneration every week for a constant soft water supply.
Demand Regeneration
This is the recommended configuration as it saves on resources by making sure regeneration only happens when necessary. The softener keeps track of water usage and sends the softener into regeneration mode once the water falls below a certain level or when a certain amount of water is used up. In this kind of configuration, the more water you use the more often regeneration happens; there really is no time it couldn’t happen.
Benefits
Manual Regeneration
In this case, you use a switch to send the softener into regeneration mode when needed.
Our experts at 360 Water Treatment are always ready to help in case you need advice or have questions on how often water softener regenerates.
Why It Happens
To understand why regeneration happens, you have to understand a little of how the softener works. In an ion-exchanger, what happens is basically what the name itself suggests-ion exchange. The salt you put in the softener is mainly composed of sodium. Sodium, in water, is an ion that doesn’t cause hardness.
The ion-exchanger has a structure that allows ion exchange to occur between hard water and sodium in the salt. The salt releases its sodium ions into the water and bonds with the magnesium and calcium ions from the water. This leaves the water free from magnesium and calcium, the hardness-causing ions.
All this happens in the resin. Once regeneration is triggered, either manually or automatically, this whole process happens and the softened water goes to the reservoir.
Time-Initiated Regeneration
In this kind of configuration, the regeneration is triggered by a clock on the control valve. The control valve is what controls the regeneration process, telling the softener when to regenerate (the valve is like the softener’s brain).
The softener is normally set to regenerate after a specific number of days and at a time of day when water usage is at its lowest. In case of a situation where regeneration begins as water is being used, say in the shower, the softener avails untreated water via an internal bypass feature.
The time interval between regenerations is determined by how much water you use and the capacity of your reservoir. For example, if you use 300 gallons a day and your reservoir can hold 2400 gallons, then if a single regeneration could fill up the reservoir that means you’ll have more than enough water for a week (300 gallons * 7 days = 2100gallons). This means you will need to schedule a regeneration every week for a constant soft water supply.
Demand Regeneration
This is the recommended configuration as it saves on resources by making sure regeneration only happens when necessary. The softener keeps track of water usage and sends the softener into regeneration mode once the water falls below a certain level or when a certain amount of water is used up. In this kind of configuration, the more water you use the more often regeneration happens; there really is no time it couldn’t happen.
Benefits
- It is economical as regeneration only happens when needed
- It is fully automated and requires no checking up
- It could encourage unmonitored use of water as which could be expensive if the regeneration happens too often.
Manual Regeneration
In this case, you use a switch to send the softener into regeneration mode when needed.
Our experts at 360 Water Treatment are always ready to help in case you need advice or have questions on how often water softener regenerates.
