How Does A Water Softener Work?

How does a water softener work? Basic explanation.
#plumbing #how #plumber #water #hardwater #softwater #trades #fyp

[@phatcowboy76]

Oh, an ion exchange resin. We used those on US Navy submarines. Very effective.

[@S55doctor]

That’s classified

[@sorin.n]

Not anymore is not... why did you have to tell everyone? 😅

[@Marynicole830]

@UBEREEMSUPREMEtwas a joke

[@niclikescakes]

We use them anywhere there is a reverse osmosis system

[@phillipdesrosiers9020]

Great explanation!

[@theplumbersplunger]

Thank you

[@D1rtyharold]

Great work. I have never seen a soft water loop like that. In my area they are always copper.

[@theplumbersplunger]

Wish they were here as well but most of these new homes are done like this now.

[@mlevesque3022]

That water softener is actually one of the best you can find. That valve is what the large companies use. Guaranteed that came from a supply house for 1/2 the price

[@denniszhaunerchyk6191]

What is the brand and the model?

[@paullemar4390]

Clack WS series

[@winonajr3931]

What makes it the best you can find?

[@mylessheckles605]

You're right about the crystals forming together and "bridging." However, that usually only occurs in hot or humid environments. I've seen the pellets Bridge (albeit less often.) I used to work for Culligan and have serviced installed hundreds of softeners. (Your installation looked very professional! I personally would have added a spiggot pre/post treatment for testing purposes.)

[@beemore18]

Culligans service our water softeners!

[@RoikaVG]

in the first 5 seconds watching this i was wondering what really is hard water and you explained it as i was thinking that. thank you

[@markm7311]

Good job explaining. 😊

[@theplumbersplunger]

Thank you

[@JamesPontius]

Good information

[@amazingaces4389]

You should always install a shut off and a bypass when installing these systems

[@alexbecker9588]

There is a bypass built into the head and you can shut off the water with that bypass

[@ralanham76]

Good idea

[@RadDadisRad]

In houses I’ve seen the plumbers stub up the plumbing for the drain using a washer box and blank off the water ports inside the box. Also they leave more pipe out of the wall in case they have to service it.

[@jackbauer2698]

It whispers to the water ASMR style and therefore makes it soft.

[@justinhussey2376]

Nice clean work

[@qeyshawn7703]

I'm still trying to understand why I find plumbing videos so satisfying

[@keagan0000]

Love this explanation keep em coming! Thank you

[@hardrocklobsterroll395]

Those crumpets really make plumbing a lot cleaner than solder and flux. I know sweated copper has its place but for a lot of stuff you just can’t beat it now

[@j12997967]

Thanks for the explanation!

[@sethgibbons80]

Thanks…this counts as my learned something new today item 😊

[@tomdillan]

My buddy just got a new water softener installed and the guy installed a water hose connection to use for car washes without the spots.

[@evaandossa8919]

One thing I would suggest is setting it all on A drain pan in case of accidental overflow or failure.

[@SuperS05]

Do note that ion exchange replaces unwanted minerals with less undesirable elements, in this case sodium. Sodium can be very hard on some components such as water heaters.

[@codylujan]

just change the anode rod out for an aluminum one and your problem is fixed. the heater itself is fine, sodium and magnesium don't play well together

[@SuperS05]

@@codylujan no, it's the same reaction just a bit weaker, which means less protection overall. Sodium increases the reaction of both metals, it doesn't actually react with the magnesium or aluminum directly at significant levels. Aluminum has worse health effects than magnesium.

[@bludika]

Cut pipe way too short, wtf you doing? Screw over the next guy?

[@BeautifulHomes83]

I'm usually that next guy

[@bludika]

@@BeautifulHomes83 yea...i fucking hate it, plumbers need to have some fucking respect for the next guy coming, instead of giving the middle finger to a fellow plumber, it's such a disgrace

[@computerbutter8124]

I just studied this (water treatment chemistry & engineering) in university and that was a pretty damn good explanation!

[@johnh5896]

I have an Excalibur softener looks same as the one there works great barely uses any salt.

[@ralanham76]

Wow nice explanation of all the times they tried to sell me a water softener and they didn’t know how it worked... I actually thought somehow the salt went into the water, not as the cleaning agent. maybe I can actually buy one now .

[@Megabear90]

I prefer having a valve block installed and using large braided and flexible hoses to connect the softener. For the drain they make special traps with an air gap to prevent sewage water intrusion. That way all I need to install the softener is a wrench and a screw driver, I can move or replace the softener if needed and never have to touch the actual plumbing for its service life (we used stainless, so I guess it will last longer than I will). The valve block enables a bypass function in case the softener fails.

[@sirvenomslayer]

Had one in Arizona worked wonderfully

[@ma3popeye]

There is so much garbage on youtube these days, but this was a great little video

[@Fiery421]

Just... sits there in the room, as a point of pride. Water softeners aren't needed here, but it's nice to have one!

[@FOWBOWZ]

Well seeing that I have never heard of such a thing, thanks for educating me

[@jamesfarris4907]

Those are Viega fittings? I just bought a viega manabloc to replace an old one in a house I am flipping. I had to buy the 1/2” and 3/4” tools to do the job. I was having some buyers remorse on it but I have heard from a few people Viega fittings are the way to go anyway. What is your opinion?

[@theplumbersplunger]

Haven’t had one issue with them yet. Great product.

[@lostcoastlocal7073]

Never seen a press pex fitting before. I use expansion

[@kyledalton8501]

Run that Clack Valve on a pre fill cycle as opposed to post if youre worried about bridges. Also, please adjust the settings next time.... that Rev 1 comes with generic settings that dont work for all areas. Specifically where im at in AZ. I couldnt tell you how many hundreds of these ive had to replace the resin in after less than 5 years because the installers dont have a clue about how these are supposed to be programmed. Clack makes without a doubt the best water softener systems available but these installers don't know the first thing about setting them up properly and end up desyroying the resin because of it. That's a 1 cubic foot and is programmed from the factory as a 1.25 cubic foot. All Clack PC Boards are. You didnt fix that, i could see it in your cycle times. Meaning it can handle a maximum of 1000 gallons (or 14 days for a family amd 28 days for a single person) before a regen is necessary, but you have it programmed to run 1333 gallons. Theyll have 0 grains out for 1000 gallons and 1-5 grains out for 333 gallons. No bueno..... This softener should last 12-16 years without a resin replacement but your programming (or lack thereof) cut its lifespan in half. Guys like this keep me in business.

[@winonajr3931]

I prefer cystals over pellets. Both can bridge. Crystals break up easier. Pellets will dissolve into a Mush at the bottom of the tank, eventually turning into a concrete like texture.

[@lofiRob]

Nice video and work, thanks. How long do those pellets last & how often should you change them? I’m talking about the pellets in the tank, not the actual salt. Thanks.

[@PlumbSharp]

I like how they made that loop 😂 I normally see 90s

[@theplumbersplunger]

Common way they do it here. Saves them a couple $ I guess 😂

[@jeremygates51]

All the hard plumbing is already done!

[@ChristopherAndersonPirate]

I have an old water softener that still works great from 2008 in our home built in 2005. It suggests solar salt crystals in the bin so that’s what I got, but I noticed most of the options are pellets now and most people buy that. Any suggestions?

[@tobiasfellmann7692]

Nice thanks, we have one for 20 years. Still we have pluged outlets, because of small crystals. I suspect not enough replacing of the salt?

[@elijah3807]

No service/bypass loop?

[@SONNYnAZ23]

The two red arrows on the WS are the bypass valves

[@elijah3807]

@@SONNYnAZ23 no, the loop that gets installed so that if/when anything related to the water softening system goes pear shaped, like the resin tank manifold cracks, the homeowner can bypass the entire system, and still have water to the entire home in case parts aren’t readily available for whatever reason. Sometimes shit just breaks and you cant get parts for a few days. Service loop is always a good idea.

[@kyledalton8501]

@elijah3807 that's literally what the red handles are. That is a service bypass designed by Clack for Clack systems EXACTLY for the reason you've just described. You can turn the red handles clockwise and remove the softener entirely (if needed) for any sort of service WITHOUT interrupting water service to the home. They're shaped like arrows to indicate the direction of flow.

[@prototype_0xD1]

As a homeowner, I'd like to see a complete bypass valve setup right at the wall so if I wanted to bypass the system completely because it failed or clogged or whatever, I could do that.

[@theplumbersplunger]

The back of the head before it gets into the softener has a bypass in case you need to do that.

[@akihito983]

the scuba tank looking thing ive popped a few open and they were just filled with regular river stone

[@captainterryn.cappellieri9491]

Yeah, the only thing I forgot as a service loop

[@kooll2401]

At what hardness level should one get a softener? Wolud it provided any benefits in water that's not very hard?

[@BlueDart1971]

If you have any mineral buildup on your faucets it’s hard enough to get one. I can also remove clear water iron.

[@BV4551Pl]

Do u need a specific water drain pipe or some for the disposed water since its gonna be salty water?

[@kona702]

Thank you for this. I always thought it just mixed the salt with the water. I'm dumb kol

[@ccadama]

@theplumbersplunger. A plumber I spoke with said that I can have softer water using the style of water softener you showed. But it will shorten the life of my hot water heater. Is he right?

[@PlumbSharp]

Anode rods are usually victim to softeners

[@theplumbersplunger]

Depends on what your water hardness is. Water heaters in my area without a softener last 6-8 years. With a softener 8-10

[@jaybee3165]

SPOT ON bro. good description. that looks like a clack control head? not bad. I'd say- OK-ish. fleck is king. I use fleck 5600sxt, fleck 2900, and for the municipality where I do my '40 a week'... i use fleck 3900 with an NXT2 control. although- I've had occasion to price out a fleck 9500.

[@972CHENZO]

I fix appliances and I deal with finding resin beads on the cold side of the water valve on washers. Is it because the softeners diaphragm went bad and let in all the resin beads?

[@orange3203]

If you're in pex already is there really an advantage to the pro press fittings? They must cost more than any pex fitting.

[@arvin6606]

What's wrong with hard water? It's still safe to consume after filtration right?

[@Megabear90]

It's fine, the calcium and magnesium are good for you. It does however gunk up and eventually break your appliances and water heater, it can taste a bit unpleasant and leaves water stains like crazy.

[@_K_W]

Do you have any softener recommendations ?

[@shekharmoona544]

What if you have a septic tank? I've read the salt can kill the bacteria in the septic tank.

[@Watthead80]

Crystal is far better than the pellets. Never had crystals bridge, but I've seen the leftovers of the binding agent use to make those nice neat little pellets. Brine tank looks like a pot of mashed potatoes.

[@aBusybee]

Aren't you supposed to applied the cement then twist/rotate it in? Seen a lot of pvc cement jobs pop off when they were'nt twisted on.

[@AndersHanche]

We have one for our steam boiler feed water, but damn how hard is the water in your area if this is necessary for regular consumers?

[@joeh317]

What tool do you use for a krimper tool

[@anatoliygolub5609]

cost savings/analysis? pros/cons?

[@urbanturbine]

Why would you cut the pipe so close to the wall? You could have left a couple inches in case someone has to disconnect that crimp.

[@bb55555555]

and what do you do with the waste that is generated?

[@Benji-zv5ev]

It's funny when people buy a tiny single stage filter on there house and tell me that it filters all the calcium and magnesium😅

[@user-ty2uz4gb7v]

I thought pellets were bad because there was some sort of adhesive binder that was not good for the system.

[@lvrrylxrd232]

What about fluoride filtration?

[@maxegloff3001]

how many connections do you want? yes

[@stepandanek6138]

How much do you really need to soften water?

[@westoneaves7761]

Only 14 grains hard? That’s crazy. Where I am it’s around 22. 😂

[@adamzapata6629]

My company has us use the Crystals not the pellets.

[@zachrowe986]

How much is a water softener and can I put it in myself

[@Tinkatink957]

Aye my boy who makes those units cause it might last 2 years or so.

[@ChristiannTyler]

How do I get rid of all the chlorine and other crap in my water?

[@50srefugee]

Ion exchange softeners are great, but have one problem: the softened water has a high salt content. If you use it on your lawn and garden, the salt will build up in the soil over the years, and kill the plants. If at all possible, hose bibs and sprinklers should bypass the softener. If this can't be done, shut the softener off or bypass it while irrigating.

[@jupeterpan9734]

Filter is the bestest

[@calebcalvin]

Was that an electric wrench?

[@brutalassassin442]

Should use the correct tool for the correct pipe that uponor pex and u voided the warranty with that crimp

[@ButterNoToast]

I never clean em, i say they need replacement, the whole system 💰

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

hard water sounds nutritious though

[@MeMoeMustafaAlnour]

What is soft water used for? Soft drinks? But seriously, is it drinkable? Is it better in any way?

[@PCGamer1732]

better for skin and also tastes better if you were to drink it

[@Redeyesounds]

No optional bypass just in case

[@oneplusaim1582]

Uhhhh Crystals over pellets pellets melt and cause a bridge …also using a stationary PVC for the drain line is retarded because replacing that valve just became 1000% harder… stick to plumbing Water Softners are a different game

[@oneplusaim1582]

Points for the customer having a Clack Valve Tune up can be done Tool less

[@joshbreshears4053]

Except we need magnesium

[@thegreatunknown8075]

Oh yeah no it's not the fault of the poster but right as he goes to explain it I get the endless loading doom Comments work fine the next video works fine scroll back this one just freezes

[@dri6328]

But how does it regenerate?

[@matt19218]

Yes hard water leaves residue on dishes but your baby also needs calcium and magnesium so you should just leave it alone

[@Marynicole830]

Not any more than is in their food. It does more than just leave residue, hard water can cause all sorts of problems and in an infant, too much calcium can be a concern. When I was introducing cows milk to my son when he hit over a year old, I had to make sure he didn’t drink too much, the doctor said it can cause health problems.

[@MrWitchTube]

Countries like scotland and south of australia naturally have water as soft as from water softener and people are living somehow:)

[@baddog3520]

Would you explain, why that pipe looped in/out of the wall like that 🤔🤔🤔

[@HeadBroski]

It was for future use in case the home owner ever needed to add a filtration system or water softener. Without the loop it could have been expensive to pipe.

[@theplumbersplunger]

Pre looped for a water softener/filtration system to be installed. Common in my area due to our water quality.

[@markm7311]

That "softener loop" is very common in almost every new home being constructed now. That being said, the "loop" doesn't always look exactly like the one in this video, sometimes it is just a straight piece of piping that is readily available for the plumber to be able to cut out and install the needed fittings to connect a water softener and/or filter.

[@anthonygriffin6868]

My grain is super high, it's absurd

[@NuChatz]

I don’t recommend using white pellets at all. The bridge worse. Use solar salt and keep the salt above the water. That’s that 😂

[@Top1a1]

I've never seen solar salt bridge. I've seen dozens of pellet salt bridges. At the end of the day, read the manual and see what the manufacturer recommends.

[@munjee2]

Why was a plastic pipe randomly coming out of the wall ?

[@theplumbersplunger]

Most homes where I am are pre plumber with a softener loop like this to make it easy to have one installed

[@Ruckusism]

Is that a carbon fiber tank ?

[@johnalenwork53]

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr you didn't mark your depths....Hay boy get your fancy tools off my job site!!! 😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂

[@skinlab4239]

Use the type of salt the manufacturer recommends not you. You can void your warranty and mess a system up.

[@BlueDart1971]

As a plumber for over thirty years he’s not wrong.

[@davedave9552]

@@BlueDart1971He who? The guy in the video, or this guy above us in the comment section?

[@BlueDart1971]

@@davedave9552 the guy in the video. I can see how that would be confusing.

[@THETANKGINGER]

It’s all salt. Recommendation means nothing. It’s not different salt just sold in a different form.

[@stuemler]

Hey boy, back in my day (1960), we'd rip out that wall and replace it with copper. Expensive, likely not what the customer could afford but that was our $200 day. You get that plastic piping off my job site!!

[@theplumbersplunger]

😂

[@davedave9552]

Wrong channel man… lol

[@daduuuq4831]

hate seeing pet exposed like that lmaoo. respect the hustle but next guy is gonna have to open up the wall

[@theplumbersplunger]

I left enough pex out of the wall to cut and add a new fitting if and when needed.

[@richlong4119]

take feris iron too clear iron. not feric iron thou

[@BluewaterBottoms]

I'd rather have a big enough buffer tank to filter all of the contaminants out.

[@ChaseRead]

I am a sales rep for a water filtration company and this video gets a couple things wrong, a water softener does not go through an ion exchange, those are called water conditioners. A water softener like the one you see him installing removes the minerals instead of putting them through an ion exchange. A water softener also needs salt to clean the collected minerals in the system. A conditioner does not because it sends the minerals into an ion exchange rather than removing them.

[@RandornCanis]

The device he installed uses cation exchange resin beads. These exchange positively charged ions through ion density gradient. High saturation Na⁺ in the resin structure exchanges with dissolved Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in water. We see that two Na⁺ ions exchange for each Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺ ion to maintain charge density. This quickly depletes the Na⁺ in the resin. We recharge with a concentrated NaCl brine. This reverses the density gradient. The resin binds with Na⁺ while releasing Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺, then we rinse and discard the resultant chloride salts. A water conditioner typically uses template assisted crystallization. TAC devices use nucleation structures to micro-crystallize calcium and magnesium carbonate. These micro-crystals pass through water systems easily. This prevents crystallization in the form of limescale. The benefit of conditioners is that since no exchange takes place, no recharge is necessary. The drawback is that harness is not removed, thereby water is not softened, though formation of limescale is reduced. Persistent limescale will still form where precipitation or crystallization is forced - a kettle, for instance. A study by Lin Shen, Waterloo, 2019, found that water conditioner techniques showed small reductions in free Ca concentrations, and slightly less scale and sticky scale formation in boiling water. The study also tested sequential ultrafiltration to separate the micro-crystals formed by conditioners - this was unsuccessful. Softeners use cation exchange resins to substitute more soluble minerals. Conditioners convert the structures of the minerals to prevent limescale without exchange of ions, therefore no ion recharge is necessary.

[@mikebythesea45]

No unions for future service? Bypass ?

[@theplumbersplunger]

Bypass is already built into the back of the head.

[@theplumbersplunger]

The nipples coming off of the head act as unions because they can be disconnected

[@Sparkplug.223]

fucking hate water softeners fucks the water pressure up so when i shower it doesnt feel like im gettin clean

[@itskennybro]

Cristal’s over pellet all day everyday day

[@tracewalters1378]

i don't get why u don't just use one step clear cement. if there is a reason i want to know. especially inside it's such a gamble if that shit gets on that baseboard 😂

[@theplumbersplunger]

I usually use clear primer. I was just out unfortunately.

[@markm7311]

I'm not sure about the plumbing code where this softener was installed but most states follow the UPC which requires that every PVC joint be made up using "contrasting color primer and cement". The local inspector can fail the job and make all of the joints be cut out and replaced using the approved methods. I usually do use clear primer on a joint where purple would possibly drip and damage the surrounding surfaces myself and have not been called out about it by the inspector. If I know that a particular inspector is diligent about following the code exactly as written then I will be sure to follow the code because it is not worth losing my license over . @theplumbersplunger always does a nice looking job and if I needed to hire another person at my shop I would consider hiring him.

[@Louis93]

How plumbing is easy ……….

[@GSC-Operator-chan]

I think id rather just get a filtration system instead and just remove all the additives in the water instead of just the calcium.

[@joeschmoe6908]

Filtration doesn't remove dissolved minerals though, so you would still need a softener or de-ionizer for that.