Do water softeners harm septic systems is an issue that has been debated for years. Every household needs water. Water is essential in cleaning the house, washing the car, doing laundry, cooking meals, maintaining the yard, and taking care of the household members. This is why water must be very potable and generally usable. It should help you do your tasks easier and make your living space more comfortable. But not every home has access to the ideal soft water that is commonly used. Hard water is what they use and this water type makes every chore very difficult to do. It even makes your budget suffer. Those who use hard water buy more soap than usual and pay higher water bills as well. To normalize things, water softening systems are installed in homes and water softeners are used to treat the hard water that enters the water supply.
You have experienced this same thing as a homemaker. Your area wasn’t blessed with a supply of soft water so you had to make do with hard water during the early years in your new home. Eventually, you have reached the saturation point. You told your husband that you needed a water softening system installed because your weekly budget couldn’t take the constant buying of detergents, shampoos, and soaps, not to mention the large amount that you pay for your water bill each month. It was too overwhelming to handle at times and you were afraid that you won’t be able to save up for your child’s college fund if this kept up. Before you finalized things with the water softening system installer, you still considered the question…Do water softeners harm septic systems?
There is only one answer to this—NO. For the longest time, water softening systems have been repeatedly studied with regard to its effects on septic systems. Many homeowners get apprehensive when it comes to using water softeners because of the fear that the mineral discharges would greatly harm their septic systems. These are the following misconceptions about water softeners and the explanations behind them:
a) Water softening equals an increase in water load
Homeowners always think that when you activate your water softening system, the water load that enters the septic system increases. On the contrary, water softening only happens on the average of two times in a week. The grey water that enters the system is even more than the water discharge that comes from water softening.
b) The salt kills off bacteria
The amount of salt after using water softeners is very little to kill off bacteria. It is not significant enough to affect the sensitive environment that the septic system has. It was even established by researchers and scientists that the salt discharge even improves the way the resident bacteria breaks down the solid waste particles that enter the septic system.
c) The salt helps block the septic system
The salt that is discharged from using water softeners is not enough to bind with clay to clog up the system.
d) The mineral wastes harm the drain field
The minerals that are discharged when you use water softeners (iron, calcium, and magnesium) actually improve the soil percolation of the drain field or the soil absorption system. When soil percolation is improved, the dispersion of the treated effluent is much faster and the purification is much more efficient.
After clarifying these facts with your septic expert, you and your husband decided to have the water softening system installed already. A week went by and you have never been happier. With the use of water softeners, you were able to complete your chores earlier every day. You only bought soap, shampoo, and detergents once a month and even have some left for the following month. Your water bill wasn’t too high anymore. Because of the savings that you had, you were able to make a down payment on your child’s college fund.
It is true? Do water softeners harm septic systems? Water softeners DO NOT harm septic systems when used properly.