Salt-Free Water Softener Alternative System, Saltless Water Conditioner - FS500

Our 1-3 Bath 12 GPM systems uses 9 x 48” tanks and sits about 52 inches tall, including the valve head. The 4-6 Bath 15 GPM system uses 10x54” tanks and sits about 58 inches tall. For single tanks, we recommend 20x10” space. For our combos, we recommend a 30x10” space.

Hard water is water that contains dissolved minerals, usually calcium and magnesium. It’s commonly measured in grains per gallon (GPG). As these dissolved minerals can clump together to produce scale – which can harm your internal pipes, plumbing, and home appliances – hard water can be a nuisance. Our systems can help manage it.

Our mineral tanks are built out of USA-made high-spun fiberglass, and they’re certified for safety. We offer a lifetime guarantee against manufacturer defects. Unfortunately, not all tanks on the market are made to such standards.

No. Calcium and magnesium are naturally occurring minerals that are generally considered to be a benefit to a healthy diet. However, these minerals are a nuisance for internal plumbing, appliances, shower or faucet heads, and heating elements.

The sediment pre-filter removes fine sediment, rust, and debris from the water – but salt free water softeners do not remove any contaminants. Salt-free conditioners simply treat the scaling issues as a result of hard water. If you’re looking at filtering the water and improving the overall taste and odor, then our whole house filter and salt free water softener combo is the better option. Our whole house water filters systems use granulated activated carbon to remove impurities and contaminants commonly found in tap water.

Testing a water softener that does not use salt is different than a traditional salt based system. A standard test strip to test for hardness will still read hard with a saltless water softener system because calcium and magnesium is technically still in the water; it’s just in a suspended state. The water hardness may actually go up initially as it removes any existing scale that could be attached to pipes. The best way to test is to check pipes for limescale build-up. If you have initial hard water build-up, it can take time for the system to remove any existing scale. We recommend draining a water heater tank prior to installation to help flush existing hard water build-up.

Yes. However there can be no iron, hydrogen sulfide or manganese. If there are noticeable levels of any of those elements, pre-treatment is necessary as with any salt free media on the market. These elements can foul salt free media. 

Salt-based water softeners use ion exchange to replace calcium and magnesium ions with salt. This, of course, results in the depletion of calcium and magnesium and a higher level of sodium in the water. Salt-based water softeners also waste water through backwashing and require a drain and electrical hookup. Water softeners do not filter contaminants from the water; they simply exchange the calcium and magnesium with sodium, thus producing soft water. Salt-free systems act as a conditioner, taking the calcium and magnesium and turning them into microscopic nano crystals that become suspended in water so they cannot attach to appliances and pipes to create scale. The most noticeable difference is that salt-free water softeners don’t leave your skin slimy or slippery like traditional salt based systems. Our customers, however, do notice a softer feeling from the water.

Salt-free softeners, water conditioners, and anti-scale systems all fall under the “no salt water treatment” category. Generally, salt-free softeners act as conditioners in the traditional sense: they condition water so that calcium and magnesium cannot stick to surfaces and create scale. Thus, they are often referred to as anti-scale systems, because they prohibit scale from forming. These systems all use a catalytic bead media to treat water hardness. These media treatment systems are very different from magnetic or electronic water softeners that claim to treat hard water. They’ve been proven by Arizona State University in an extensive study. Salt free softeners that use catalytic bead media are scientifically valid and backed, while the latter – magnetic or electronic water softeners – have not shown results.

Salt-free water softeners use template assisted crystallization to treat hard water. In cold water, calcium ions (Ca2+), magnesium ions (Mg+2) and bicarbonate ions (HCO3-) are surrounded by “layers” of electrochemically-attracted water molecules, which “insulate” against the natural tendency of oppositely-charged ions to come together and form crystals. Atomic level templates on the surface of the media act as catalysts and reduce the ability of calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate ions from coming together to form crystals of calcium and magnesium scale. This process, that we refer to as template assisted crystallization (TAC), results in the creation of microscopic crystals of scale (seed crystals), which rapidly form in treated water, not on the contact surfaces of the water system, and are carried downstream in colloidal suspension through the water system. TAC has been tested by Arizona State University, and it was found to be the most promising technology with scale reductions over 90%.

The best study done to prove the effectiveness of salt-free water softening technologies is the one done by Arizona State University. The ASU study was conducted by a 3rd party that tested TAC media, magnetic, ion exchange, and electromagnetic devices against hard Arizona tap water at a variety of different temperatures. The study showed a 90%+ effectiveness on TAC media. Magnetic and electronic? Not so much. You can see the study here:https://watereuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Webinar-WateReuse-08-06.pdf