What Are The Differences Between A Water Softener, A Water Refiner & A Reverse Osmosis System?

What is the difference between a water softener, a water refiner/filtration and a reverse osmosis system? This is a great question and one that can be a little complex, but I will try to break this down as simply as possible. I know you want to leave most of the technical stuff to the professionals, but I also know you want to be able to make the best decision for your home and family when it comes to the water you’re using.

There are a few different water filtration systems that people primarily focus on for their homes and each one does something different, and each person has a different need and want for their home and family. Some people are concerned about the health aspect while others may only be concerned with their pipes and appliances.

The water that comes into your house that goes through all your pipes, faucets, appliances, shower and toilet is called working water and is what a water softener and a water refiner will focus on. It’s not really the water people are focused on filtering out for drinking purposes though which is why a separate water filtration system called a Reverse Osmosis system is what you’d use for drinking and cooking water.

Let’s break this down further. Your water has all kinds of minerals like calcium and magnesium in it. It also has sediment that gets picked up from the ground along with chlorine that gets added in from the city to help kill bacteria and viruses and contaminants that get picked up along the way as well.

We can start with your working water. Over time the minerals and sediment this leads to a buildup that could potentially clog your pipes, cause slow leaks, corrosion in your pipes and/or appliances and is also the number one reason hot water heaters need to be replaced. Chlorine can also cause corrosion if you have copper pipes and can lead to pin hole leaks that lead to not so fun, water leaks.

A water refiner will treat all of these issues in your working water. It will remove all the calcium and magnesium through an ion exchange where calcium and magnesium is replaced by sodium making your water nice and soft. A Water Refiner will also remove other things like sediment and chlorine. We have to remember that our working water is also the water we bathe in and we also wash our clothes and do our dishes in so even while we can’t see the sediment, it is in there and can cause a buildup in places we really don’t want like in your hair, your pipes and even on your clothes in your washing machine. So, a Water refiner will also help to remove all the sediment in your water so your water is nice and clear even visually, so you know you’re bathing and washing your clothes and dishes in really clean water, not water that’s cloudy and hard to see through – yuck.

So, we got the minerals – the calcium and magnesium, we got the sediment and now one more thing that a Water Refiner will remove is the chlorine the city adds to the water. So you don’t have to worry about seeping into your skin while showering and you’ll know your water is fresh and clean without all that bad chlorine smell and taste.

Okay so now that we got the Water Refiner down let’s talk about Water Softener. I kind of already gave you the whole run down on everything that’s in the water so it will make it easy for this one. A Water Softener while great and you should always get something – something is better than nothing – it will only remove the hardness of the water which is from the calcium and magnesium and other minerals. It’s also very good for your pipes and will help with appliances, however it will not remove any sediment or any chlorine. So, If you’re living up north and your water is super hard, and you can’t get any good lather going with your soaps because all the hard water is eating it up, and that’s your primary concern, a water softener will definitely help. Again, it will remove calcium and magnesium and exchange it for sodium, making your water nice and soft. Your pipes and appliances will be happier and so will your hair and skin. Not to mention that when you do get a water softener, it will help you to save money by not having to use so much soap like body wash, shampoo, conditioner, dish soap, laundry detergent – seriously people are so shocked at the difference in how much less soap and cleaning products they use with a water softener because your soap isn’t fighting against all the minerals in the water.

Again, a Water Softener is so great, but it will not remove any additional sediment or chlorine that’s also in the water. You’d have to get a Water Refiner removes all of that.

I hope this is making sense so far and if at this point you’re at least ready to schedule an appointment to have a free in home comprehensive water test done then go ahead and fill out the form below and a water specialist will contact you as soon as possible to get a day and time set up for you to test and see what all is in your water.

Could you benefit from having a Water Softener or Water Refiner? Which one do you think works best for your home and family needs?

Okay, finally the Reverse Osmosis system. This is going to be for your drinking and cooking water. Now I will tell you that having a Water Softener or a Water in your home will help make your Reverse Osmosis system work so much better and will last so much longer because the softener/refiner will actually remove out all the hard minerals and sediment we discussed earlier out before it gets the Reverse Osmosis system will work so much more efficient and the membrane of the system will last a lot longer when it doesn’t have to filter everything out on its own but even if you only choose to get a Reverse Osmosis system, here is what it will remove. It will remove hard water minerals like calcium and magnesium and other minerals. If you do get the Reverse Osmosis system along with a Water Softener or a Water Refiner, then the Reverse Osmosis system will also remove the sodium that the softener and refiner add to the water, so you won’t taste that when you drink it. A Reverse Osmosis system will also remove heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, contaminants, PFA’s (or forever chemicals), PFO’s, VOC’s, chemicals, which if you haven’t had a chance to see what chemicals were found in your water yet you can do so by clicking here at this website - https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/. This is just a free resource by a non-profit group called Environmental Working Group or EWG for short. It’s not a government site so everything on here is transparent. This is not meant to scare you, but it’s meant to help make people aware of the chemicals that have been found in the water in your area. It’s very simple to use, you just type your zip code in and it will show your utility company and once you click on that it will give you a list of what all was found in your water and the levels of each chemical.

If you get a Reverse Osmosis system, it does a very good job of removing up to 98% of these contaminants! So, you can be confident your water is clean, safe and healthy!

Reverse Osmosis also removes total dissolved solids which is just a fancy term for solid material you just can’t see because it’s dissolvable material, and a Reverse Osmosis system will also remove bacteria and viruses.

Again, a Reverse Osmosis system or an RO system is for your drinking and cooking water. There’s nothing like having the confidence to know your water is healthy and clean and you don’t have to worry about putting anything in your body that doesn’t belong there!

So, there you have it, a simple breakdown of the difference between a Water Softener, a Water Refiner and a Reverse Osmosis system or RO for short.

I hope this helped you to be able to decide which system is the right one for you, your home and your family and if you’re ready to have a water specialist come to your home to give you a free comprehensive water test so you can see what’s actually in your water and find out if you’d benefit from having one of these systems in your home.

If you enjoyed reading this and would like more information about how home water filtration works then check out the blog section on this website for all kinds of resources and knowledge. Till then, take care, see you soon.