Before we explain how water softeners can affect your septic system it’s important to start by explaining what exactly water softeners are and what exactly they do for your home’s water. Having a better understanding of the basics will help you to better understand why they can affect your septic. We also want to note that this topic often sparks debate. In this blog, we’ll highlight some potential negatives to having a water softener. We also acknowledge that the reviews and opinions are mixed.
What are Water Softeners
A water softener is a device that treats water as it comes into the home. It also has a component called the brine tank. A water softener uses ion exchange to remove minerals like calcium and magnesium to make the water less hard. Hard water can be harsh on your appliances, hair, and nails (this is why we remove them). The soft water will be moved throughout your home while the removed minerals will move through the brine tank and be flushed through your plumbing and septic. It’s the flushing of these leftover minerals that poses a problem for your septic system.
How a Water Softener Can Negatively Affect Your Septic
In this section, we’ll look at how water softeners can affect your septic in a negative way. Keep in mind that if you are experiencing any issues with your septic then you should call an expert immediately. Lion Septic is here for all of your septic service needs.
- Issue #1: Flushing too much water through your septic system can overwhelm the system. When you use a lot of water during your day you’re forcing your septic to process a lot of water. This can lead to things breaking down over time.
- Issue #2: The leftover water with all of the minerals can seriously disrupt the natural balance of your septic tank. This mineral heavy water can affect the layers of sludge in your septic tank which are necessary to its proper functioning. This water also contains salt which can be extremely corrosive to the tank.
We don’t want to discourage you from having a water softener because we understand for most of our customers they are necessary. Having a septic system often means you have your own private well water which would need filtering by a water softener. In order to keep your septic safe and your water soft we suggest having the leftovers dispersed outside your home’s plumbing. You can do this through a downspout of storm drain!
If you have questions or want to learn more about how to take the best care of your septic system contact Lion Septic. Our septic experts are happy to help you! If you’re looking for some reviews of Lion Septic you can click this link. Call Lion Home today at (970) 829-8222.
