Many people have concerns about the safety of water from a home water softener. Is it safe to drink? The good news is that water softeners provide a safe source of drinking water for your home and improve protection for your plumbing from scale buildup.

Is Soft Water Safe to Drink?

Softened water is perfectly safe for you and your pets to drink. It has a proven record of use in homes for more than six decades. Unless you have restrictions on your sodium intake, you can safely consume water from your water softener. Some people prefer to filter the water or send it through a reverse osmosis purifier to improve its taste. However, unless you have a safety warning, such as a boil-water advisory, from your local water provider, the water from your water softener is just as safe as standard tap water to drink.

One thing to understand about water softeners is that they are not filtration units, but you can have a softener with a filtration system added. Without adding filtration or purification systems, a water softener will not remove bacteria, chemicals, or other contaminants from water. Plus, they cannot make water under a boil-water order safe. Follow boil water guidelines to render your water safe in these situations.

Can You Water Your Garden with Softened Water?

Softened water has sodium or potassium added to it to replace the hard water minerals. These extra elements can disrupt the fine electrolyte balance of plants in your garden. If you want to water your garden, use water that has not passed through the water softener to avoid adding too much sodium to the soil.

Should Anyone Not Drink Softened Water?

Some people who have very strict restrictions on their sodium intake should talk to their doctors about using water softeners. If medical reasons make a sodium-based water softener not an option, water conditioners can neutralize the impact of hard water minerals without adding sodium or potassium to the water.

In Southern California, Choose Oceanus for Your Whole Home Water Softener

If you’re in Southern California, you very likely have scale problems from hard water. Contact our team at Oceanus to find out about your options for a whole home water softener and to have it professionally installed. We can also install a reverse osmosis system to boost the taste of your softened water to be as pure as possible. Let us know how we can help you have the best water in your home.

Sources

https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/water-softening-ion-exchange

https://extension.psu.edu/water-softening

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/product/water-softener-with-filtration/

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/contact-us/

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/product/water-conditioner/

https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/factsheet/softening.html

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/product/water-softener/