Water Softener for Pool (salt vs no salt, etc)

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spoonman

spoonman

Well-known member
Jun 16, 2016
431
Peoria, AZ
Hi folks

I'm interested to learn more about softeners as I’m considering adding one in the future to combat high CH. Living down in Phoenix I have terribly hard water. Right now I’m in the process of having RO performed on my pool water.

I’ve heard that “salt free” systems aren’t very good but would like to understand why. Can someone help explain how much water and salt a typical softener uses? Also why are salt free systems bad?

My key concerns are reducing CH for my pool as well as the negative health effects from drinking softened water.
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong... but I remember salt content in water coming out of a softer is about 240ppm, which is only a concern for drinking water if your doctor has you on a diet with no added salt.


Also, how much does it cost to RO your pool water?
 
Unsoftened tap water probably has a little salt in it to start with. A correctly functioning salt-based water softener shouldn't be adding salt (NaCl) to the water - it will however add sodium (Na). People with renal issues or on restricted diets probably shouldn't drink softened water. If you run softened water thru an RO drinking water system, the RO removes most anything added by the softener.

If you house already has a pre-existing water softener loop installed, the cold water to the kitchen sink and any outside hose bibs probably used un-softened water.

How much salt the system used when it regenerates is based on the water hardness and the softener itself. The amount of water used per regeneration cycle is based on the softener and also how large the softener is. All things being equal, a softener rated for 32,000 grains will use less salt and water to regenerate than a softener rated at 64,000 grains - but will regenerate more frequently.
 
RO for the pool water costs $340 here in PHX. The water coming out of the machine is like bottled water...I tasted it :)

For someone here in PHX, how much salt are we talking typically in a year? 50lbs? I really have no clue. Also, I'm not much of a greenie, but I hear that the salt is very bad for the environment. The salt free systems seem more appealing, but I hear people are negative toward them. I'm not sure why, but wonder if they would be adequate for replenishing the pool.
 
Salt free systems are not "softeners". They are not legally able to claim that. They are supposed to prevent scale in your piping. The ONLY salt substitute for a softener is potassium chloride pellets in a softener. It isn't as good as salt in cleaning the resin.
 
I probably go thru about 300 pounds of salt a year - 8 bags or so. My unit is 19 years old - not sure if newer ones are more efficient or not. The water used to regenerate/rinse the resin goes down the sanity sewer and into the city waste treatment plant. I talked with the waste treatment guys at the city - they said they aren't concerned about the small amount of salt. Compared to the overall quantity of stuff in the sewer system, it's miniscule.

As kabutotx states, salt-free systems do not 'soften' the water.

Not sure if you've seen this thread or not - some good info there....
Water softener installation!!!!
 
What is your ch in your fill water? Take ch/17.1*8 and that is the sodium addition to your water. It is a falicy that drinking softened water is bad unless you have a sodium restricted diet, then you replace sodium salt with postassium salt and that goes away.

My thread tells much of this, too see for salt use but I don't use very much because I bought a huge softener

Go to page one

Water Softeners For CH Control - Page 3
 
I’m over in Chandler and we use 1-40 pound bag every other month. My whole house is plumbed with soft water including the pool, with the exception of the out front hose bib.

If you want the name and number of the company I use, PM me and I can provide. He’s awesome on price and service.
 

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Would be interesting if water could be conditioned as it passed through the pool plumbing. In theory, if you had a salt free system with high enough gpm capacity, you could add it to the return line and condition the return water continuously. Wonder what the upper limit would be on treating high CH water?

Here is a descaler system that says it can be used for pools. Anyone have thoughts on this? Seems like a good way to eliminate the effects of high CH for those of us in the desert..

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scalewa...H=REC-_-irg_acc-5-_-205477443-_-303486219-_-N

or this?

http://www.aqua-rex.com/swimming-pool.php
 
Surprised nobody has chimed in on this. This Aqua-Rex unit plus in to 120vonly draws 5w of energy, and is supposed to descale pool water as it passes through 2" pipes. May also make toast! This sounds too good to be true, but I wonder if anyone here has experience with such devices?!?
 
I just installed one of these after a plumber told me it worked for him and actually removed some scale build up on his pool. I installed it after paying a few hundred bucks to have my pool bead blastedd clean.

I was a little doutful but I read the lab report that was posted online and thought it was worth a shot:

Performance Verification from IAPMO R & T Labs - Aqua Rex

please click here to download
www.aqua-rex.com www.aqua-rex.com
 

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Arizonarob said:
I’m over in Chandler and we use 1-40 pound bag every other month. My whole house is plumbed with soft water including the pool, with the exception of the out front hose bib.

If you want the name and number of the company I use, PM me and I can provide. He’s awesome on price and service.
Click to expand...
Hey AZRob -Can I take you up on this recommendation for your soft water guy? I’d like to look at plumbing my house and auto leveler to soft water. I’ll also try to PM you. Thanks!!
 
Ukiwis said:
I just installed one of these after a plumber told me it worked for him and actually removed some scale build up on his pool. I installed it after paying a few hundred bucks to have my pool bead blastedd clean.

I was a little doutful but I read the lab report that was posted online and thought it was worth a shot:

Performance Verification from IAPMO R & T Labs - Aqua Rex

please click here to download
www.aqua-rex.com www.aqua-rex.com
Click to expand...
@Ukiwis Can you share any findings from using the aqua-rex unit? I'm shopping for a solution to our hard water from the city and came across the aqua-rex devices but wanted some first hand feedback before going for it.
 
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