If you’re looking for eco-friendly water treatment for your home, we have great news. Every type of water filtration and water treatment system we offer improves your water quality and has a low impact on the environment. Because water systems produce great-tasting drinking water, they help reduce and even eliminate plastic water bottle waste. (It is estimated that only 12% of plastic water bottles are recycled in the US.)
However, there are differences in the efficiency of filtration methods and water treatment systems, along with the carbon footprint they leave behind during the manufacturing process.
When choosing a sustainable water treatment system, it comes down to choosing one that is most efficient, uses the least water, and requires the least salt.
Some water filtration methods use more water than others
Nearly every water treatment system uses and then “rejects” water to create “product” water (your drinking water). This includes ceramic water filtration, reverse osmosis, carbon water filtration, and ultrafiltration.
For example, during the reverse osmosis filtration process, water goes through three filters: a carbon filter, a reverse osmosis membrane, and a polishing filter (typically charcoal).
The membrane contains microscopic holes that only allow high quality hydrogen and oxygen molecules to pass through. The remaining water is rejected and discarded through a drain.
For each gallon of product water our systems produce, one gallon of water is rejected. This may sound like a lot, but competitors’ systems reject double, triple, or even quadruple that amount of water.
If you buy a Chinese-manufactured system online, it might reject three to four gallons of water to create one gallon of product water. Our national competitor’s systems might reject two or three gallons.
Look for a water softener that uses the least water and salt
Compared to our competitors’ systems, our water softeners use significantly less salt and water. A competitor’s system might require 10 bags of salt per year in the regeneration process; ours uses half of that.
Likewise, their system might use 70, 80 or even 100 gallons of water during the regeneration process. Ours use 30-35 gallons.
What is water softener regeneration?
Water softening systems contain tiny charged resin beads. When calcium and magnesium enter the system, they are attracted to the resin beads. Eventually, the resin tank is filled with calcium and magnesium and the system needs to be flushed to recharge the resin beads.
During the regeneration process, a salt brine is pushed through the system. The sodium ions replace the calcium and magnesium ions, thus regenerating the resin beads, and the salt water is flushed out.
The water softening process itself is eco-friendly, since it is an ion exchange and does not use any chemicals.
Water softeners have an eco-friendly “ripple effect”
Water softeners do much more than improve the quality of water in the home. They also boost the efficiency and longevity of every water-using appliance you own, including your water heater, washing machine, and dishwasher, by eliminating scale buildup.
For example, your hot water heater tank contains a copper heating element. If you have hard water, every time that element heats up, scale forms. Eventually, the heating element is covered in scale, as if it’s been encased by a rock. At this point, the heating element heats itself, then it heats the rock buildup, and finally it heats the water inside the tank.
Your dishwasher and washing machine also contain heating elements, and the same thing happens to them.
Hard water immediately impacts your appliances and water treatment systems. If you’re not sure if you have hard water, contact us to schedule a water test.
Carroll Water only offers eco-friendly water treatment systems
As an exclusive EcoWater dealer, every system we carry and install is manufactured as sustainably as possible:
- The water used in water softener testing is reclaimed and used for other testing, cutting their manufacturing facility’s water usage in half.
- 99% of plastic is reground and reused in manufacturing.
- All pallets, paper, cardboard, and other paper-based products are recycled.
EcoWater systems are also designed to be as efficient as possible. Our water softeners, conditioners, and refiners regenerate only as needed. As mentioned above, this leads to substantial savings on water and salt versus the timer-based models offered by competitors.
We especially like the HydroLink® technology in their water conditioners and refiners. It monitors your family’s water consumption, allowing you to easily spot a spike in usage. If your family of four typically uses 250 gallons a day and it spikes to 500 gallons, you’ll know.
After installing a water softener in a customer’s home, he began monitoring his family’s water usage with HydroLink. When he saw a spike in water usage, he investigated the source. As it turns out, a toilet was constantly running in his basement. Without HydroLink, it could have continued for months.
Interested in eco-friendly water treatment for your home?
Purchase an EcoWater water treatment system or water softener in the next 60 days, and receive a 10% product discount. Call us to schedule a free consultation today.
