(Doug Miller) wrote in
:

In article
,
RickH wrote:

It is a common misconception that the salt actually "softens" the
water, it doesnt. Salt is merely used as a brine to clean the
filter. The number of "plastic beads" in the filter is the only
determiner of how soft the water comes out.

Actually, you're the one with the misconceptions. Salt is the source
of the sodium that's used to soften the water. Here, educate yourself:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/question99.htm

The installer should have
sized the filter tank based on the chemistry of the water as measured
with hardness test, He probably oversized to filter too much so the
water is coming out "extra" soft.

*Maybe* he oversized the unit. Much more likely, he set the softness
setting too high, and a simple adjustment will take care of the
problem.

See the owners manual.

"Hardness" is the amount of calcium (mostly, magnesium also contributes)
in the water. The gadget is a cation exchanger, which takes away the
calcium in exchange for sodium. The salt solution (brine) is used to
regenerate the cation exchanger once it has yielded all the sodium in
exchange for the calcium taken out of the water.

I have a derelict softener in my basement that came with the house when
we bought it. Same problem as OP - the water was feeling slimy. We cut
out the softener from the water circuit, and almost all is fine. Our
Jersey water is potable, but to me it stinks and tastes foul. Brita
filters are used for drinking water.

I need more "soap" to wash myself here than in places with softer water
than our Jersey water. Because the calcium in the water "occupies" some
of the "soap" and renders it unusable. This is more noticeable with real
soap (sodium palmitate or stearate) than with synthetic detergents.

--
Best regards
Han
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