Do you have a water softener system?

We have one from SYR. Are also very satisfied, softened from 22 to 8. Up to the sodium limit value for us.

What maintenance and care is needed and how often? Can it be done by oneself?

The many opinions already written here clearly show one thing: with hard water, such a system is sensible. The running costs are manageable. There is no need to worry about water quality at all. The added salt reacts chemically. I do not know most of the listed systems. But the "green" ones from "Beck" are also installed in hospitals. They also have a hotline.

What maintenance and care are necessary and how often? Can you do it yourself?

In my view, the short maintenance intervals mainly serve profit optimization. You can regularly check and inspect it yourself. It's not rocket science after all.

Good day,

for some time now I have been struggling through endless posts pro and con water softeners. The system at friends actually convinced us, only two questions remain, which have at least already been touched upon here. Perhaps I may revive this somewhat older thread once again.

On the one hand, there is the question of whether softened water should really be re-hardened to at least 7°dH. Is that really certain? I have even tried completely softened water as a test. It does not taste really fresh, even when chilled, but rather flat. The 4°dH at friends, however, were quite convincing in terms of taste. There are indeed suppliers with a hardness of 4°, and no one probably thinks of re-hardening the water. Is there a scientific, but also understandable for laypeople like me, explanation as to why it should not be softened in this range? Mixing the water again to at least 7°dH would, from my point of view, run counter to the purpose of softening and might make me refrain from the installation.

Why is the enrichment with sodium ions supposed to be harmful? Mathematically, the sodium content increases by 115 mg/l during softening from 18 to 4. That sounds like a lot with a mentioned limit value of 200 mg/l, if, for example, you drink about 2 liters daily. But is the limit really properly understood? I recently saw a list of 54 mineral waters with a sodium content over 200 mg/l – up to 4360 mg/l! Cornflakes clearly contain almost 1000 mg of sodium per 100 grams. If you treat your child to a breakfast portion of 30 grams, you are already well above the limit in one liter of softened water. And if I allow myself a 200-gram steak – usually it is significantly larger, hardly any steakhouse serves only 200 grams – then I am at a hefty 5000 mg or 5 grams! Meat of any kind, whether beef, pork, lamb, contains about 2500 mg sodium per 100 grams. So something must be wrong with the criticism of water softening systems. I once read, but do not know where anymore, that this limit is not intended as a health hazard threshold, but rather serves as a technical reference. Does anyone know a comprehensible but convincing and understandable treatise on this (even if it comes to the conclusion that exceeding this limit value harms health)?

Otherwise: No, softened water does not taste salty, it cannot, it does not wastefully use our resources with about 5 liters of water daily for regeneration, you do not have to convince me of that.

Thanks and best regards
Stefan

understandable reasoning

There are different approaches. 7 - 8 °dH is usually the sweet spot, meaning you mostly have the optimal balance between benefit (Mg and Ca are exchanged to the extent that precipitation effects are kept within limits) and cost (the system has higher capacity at 8°dH than at 0°dH, i.e. fewer regenerations). With under 8° dH you gain little added value, at least regarding scale residues on showers, fittings, and household appliances, but you increase your operating costs. On the other hand, there are nutritional physiological aspects (Mg and Ca are quite relevant for mineral balance) as well as the requirements of the Drinking Water Ordinance regarding sodium; furthermore ecological ones, since a 0° dH system regenerates more frequently than an 8° dH system, with correspondingly higher salt and wastewater volume.

Why should the enrichment with sodium ions be harmful?

Not harmful per se at first. Drinking water in Germany is subject to strict regulations and controls as a foodstuff, hence the really extremely low limit value. As an extreme hypertension patient and for the preparation of infant formula, one should avoid sodium-rich diets. Whether 200 mg/l is really sodium-rich, I cannot answer, but that is the limit value. Whether it makes sense or not, that is another question. The setting of the limit values corresponds to the usual procedures, i.e. TDI, dose-response relationships, safety factors, combined effects, scientific knowledge status, effect thresholds, population groups etc. pp...