Will A Water Softener Harm My Septic Tank?

For many years, homeowners with private wastewater systems, particularly those with septic tanks, have been warned that softened water can disrupt the performance of their septic tanks. However, research from the Water Quality Research Foundation (WQRF) shows that the real problem isn’t water softening in general – it’s inefficient water softening.

Following almost $100,000 worth of investment and extensive research carried out by trained experts in the field of water treatment from the Water Quality Association (WQA), the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA), the State Onsite Regulators Alliance (SORA) and NSF International – the WQRF reports that these experts discovered that, when a water softener is efficiently run, it can in fact aid septic tank performance, rather than hinder it.

What Makes A Water Softener Septic-Safe?

The key to a septic-friendly setup is in proper configuration and efficient regeneration of the water softener. Fundamentally, there are two types of water softener in the sense of how they decide when to ‘regenerate’ or run cleaning cycles.

Historically, older softeners operated on a ‘time-based’ model, which means they would regenerate after a certain period of time had elapsed, rather than being based on actual water usage. This timing was estimated from the water hardness and average usage, not from how much of the water softeners capacity was truly depleted. As a result, these systems often regenerate more often than needed, thus causing it to use and dispense unnecessarily high levels of salt to the drain.

However, modern water softeners often use clever technology called ‘meter-controlled’ or demand-initiated regeneration. Instead of working on a timer basis, they track exactly how much water has been used since the last cycle and only regenerate when needed. The system is programmed with the local water hardness, allowing it to calculate exactly how many litres can be softened before the resin needs refreshing – improving its efficiency.

Our range of domestic water softeners uses this advanced meter control to ensure efficient performance and minimal salt use. Even better, our single-tank models are designed to ‘learn’ your household’s water habits. Each night at 2am, the softener checks if it has enough capacity to last another day. If not, it will run a regeneration, avoiding busy times and keeping your soft water supply uninterrupted.

How Regeneration Boosts Septic Health

Septic tanks operate on a very natural process. When wastewater is piped into the tank, over time solids in the water settle at the bottom and are broken down by naturally occurring bacteria.

Whilst excessive levels of sodium can disrupt the settling of the solids, thus creating the purported issues with reducing the efficiency of septic tanks, our knowledgeable field experts over at the WQHF inform us that the presence of hardness ions such as calcium and magnesium (which are also put into waste streams by water softeners, as they discharge the hardness ions they collect while softening your water during regeneration) actually help with the settling process. A simplified diagram of this process is shown below.

The damage to a septic tank occurs when either more sodium is used than necessary for softening, or when the calcium and magnesium are not reintroduced into the septic system in your softeners’ regeneration wastewater.

This means, as long as your softener is running efficiently and the regeneration waste from your softener is piped to your septic tank with everything else (and not diverted elsewhere), not only will your water softener not harm your septic tank’s natural processes, but research shows it is actually likely to help things along!

Choosing A Water Softener For Your Septic Tank

Our range of domestic water softeners use less salt, come pre-programmed to run at maximum efficiency (all you have to do is set the time of day and water hardness) and employ the latest in intelligent water metering technology to ensure your softener regenerates only when necessary; making them the ideal choice for septic tank utilising households who do not want to compromise on luxuriously soft water for their home!

Browse our range of smart and efficient water softeners today, or contact a member of our team to discuss your specific setup. You can also read the full executive summary from the WQHF about septic tanks at the following link: https://www.wqrf.org/softeners-septics.html