Do Salt-free Water Softeners Really Work. Unlike true water softeners, no salt water systems do not remove calcium and magnesium ions — the byproducts responsible for hard water’s filmy residue and corrosive effects. It’ll cost you less as well.
Hence, it would be better if we call them as a water conditioner or a descaler. The salt free softener process means that the minerals remain in the water, but the shape changes so that they do not stick to the surfaces. The ion exchange process used by water softeners doesn’t work without the sodium ions displacing the calcium and magnesium ions that create water hardness.
Saltless systems chemically transform the magnesium and calcium but do not capture it.
During the ion exchange process, a polymer resin bed attracts hard water minerals and replaces them with sodium ions; Unlike true water softeners, no salt water systems do not remove calcium and magnesium ions — the byproducts responsible for hard water’s filmy residue and corrosive effects. As you can see from the test results a traditional salt based water softener makes soft water while the salt free system does not. Water softeners do not use salt to soften the water.
