The wise adage that says you can't have your cake and eat it too is a good illustration for those whose duty it is to make water safe and accessible to the public. Chlorine is a chemical that is used to purify the water consumers drink, bathe and use for other domestic purposes. Water softeners have been used for ages to soften hard water, and sodium is contained in the softeners.

The hue and cry at the heart of what irks so many about water softeners is its salty ingredient, which is in the form of chloride. Many consumers feel that water quality is negatively impacted by softeners containing salt. The waste water end results—waste water qualities—harm the environment. However, water that is not treated with softeners ruins plumbing pipes due to the buildup of brine deposits in piping:

The Chloride In Water Issue

Municipalities are expected to comply with and meet the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) chloride discharge standards for water usage. There really is no current technology that reduces chloride, and the municipalities reportedly meet compliance by purchasing new treatment equipment and laying the blame for excessive chloride in water on brine, which is the salty ingredient in water softeners.

Softening Alternatives

Softening alternatives have been introduced. Assessment so far of the alternatives produced is that they have not proven to be a fix to replace salty softeners. In fact, the conclusion is that when alternative softeners are used, the end use water still returns to the environment as hard water. So it appears that there is no gain there yet for full usage of alternatives.

Other Ideas For Alternative Water Softening

Some researchers have, however, floated the idea of using portable exchange tanks as a solution for removing chloride discharged from homeowners' water systems. Waste discharge from traditional softeners would then be filtered into the tanks and transported to a centralized treatment facility that can handle chloride waste discharge contents separately and dispose of the contents in an appropriate and safe manner.

A new and recently-initiated solution by one company uses electro-deionization technology to decrease ionic impure materials in water. The science of this technological solution is proof that the use of electricity and particular ion membranes can indeed lessen amounts of ionic and nonionic particles in water. Ion technology sounds like a theme that you should embrace closely, since it appears the technology is holding ground with solid answers for water softeners.

Satisfy The Public And The Environment

American consumers are nowadays very passionate about green products that protect their families and the environment. They are interested in alternative softener technology for their water use. They want softener products without salty ingredients. Manufacture those products to please the public while saving the environment as well.