ECOsmarte blog

Hi, I have a water well and live in the mountains. My water is hard. Do you have a better system than potassium in a water softener system? I also have a pool. I am very chemically sensitive and am now buying bottled water which I know is bad. I bought a filtering system call seagull or something, but can't use it because of the hard water situation..........HELP. gail

Hi Gail,
Thanks for your questions.
Our system is practically tailor-made for your situation. If you know the measurement of hardness of your well water – either in mg/L or in “grains” of hardness, that is the first step. It should be on your well report. ECOsmarte water systems guarantee satisfaction up to 25 grains of hardness, which is 427 mg/L.
Our system is far better than a potassium-based water softener for these reasons:
• ECOsmarte does not put harmful chlorides into the environment.
• We leave the healthy minerals in the water where your body needs them.
• ECOsmarte prevents hard water scaling and gives you maximum effectiveness of detergents and soaps.
• Existing scale in pipes is actually reduced.
• Unlike water softeners, you will have no monthly servicing or endless bills.
• No water waste – softeners typically waste approximately 50 gallons per regeneration – about 100 to 150 gallons per week. Backwash from ECOsmarte filtration tanks can even be safely used for supplemental irrigation.

And that’s just talking about the hard water solution part of the equation.

We excel at well water applications because the copper ions put into the water by our technology give you added protection against bacteria, Giardia, coliforms and Cryptosporidium. Copper is a very effective killing agent, and helps to ensure your water is clean and safe all the way up to your point of use. The oxidation part of our technology handles iron, manganese, and sulfur dioxide as well. Combine that with state-of-the-art components and filtration media – and you have a one-stop solution to water issues.

Part of the well package is an initial 150 point (I think it’s 150 now, used to be 140 but the lab keeps raising it) water test that informs us exactly what you need for your well. The system is custom assembled in our factory and shipped to you – specifically designed for your well. The best part is enjoying clean, pure water from every faucet…knowing you can actually drink the water while you are taking a shower if you want to.

How big is your pool (gallons)? What kind of filtration system do you use right now? Are you using Chlorine at the present? Our system is absolutely perfect for people who are chemically sensitive – there are no chemicals in an ECOsmarte pool!

Found this article posted on Water Tech Online.com:
"Considering potassium chloride for softening" with a subtitle of "Sodium alternative should be promoted to health and environmentally conscious customers."
Well that caught my eye...anywhere they are talking about environmentally conscious and water softeners, I'm interested.
The article mentions the advantages of Potassium Chloride over Sodium Chloride for water softeners, namely less sodium content for sodium restricted diets and increased potassium (healthier). I kept reading, hoping to find a reasonable explanation for the insinuation that Potassium Chloride is more environmentally friendly than Sodium Chloride. After all...Chlorides are Chlorides, folks, and the Chlorides are the biggest part of the environmental problem from water softeners...also know as "brine discharge".
I found this gem of a sentence under the heading "Environmental Impact" (bold and italics are mine):

The use of potassium chloride in water softeners instead of sodium chloride can diminish the perceived environmental impact of brine discharge because potassium chloride is considered a healthy nutrient for both humans and plants.

The article then goes on to compare the use of Potassium Chloride in fertiliers, thereby.....I don't know, making everything grow so it's all good?? Holy twisted logic, Batman. Here's the fertilizer logic in full (still under the heading "Environmental Impact"!):

Putting this into perspective, potassium chloride is the main source of potash fertilizer in the world. Potassium chloride accounts for 94 percent of all forms of potash used domestically as reported by Agriculture Canada for 1995/1996.

The total domestic consumption was 314,000 tons of potassium chloride out of 333,253 total tons of potash, and 4,829,045 tons of all fertilizer. Further, the amount exported was 13,076,0771 tons from a total of 13,082,442 or 99.5 percent.

The total potash consumption worldwide in 1996 was 20,550,000 tons, clearly indicating the environmental advantages to the environment from using potassium chloride as a regenerant.

I don't know what you got out of that, but here's what I read:
1. Potassium Chloride is used as a fertilizer.
2. A lot.
3. Since it is used a lot, it is more environmentally friendly.

What??

I guess what astonishes me is the implication that you can fool people into believing that Potassium Chloride is more environmentally friendly. The PERCEPTION is what's important when you are trying to sell something, right? Never mind the reality. That was my first gut reaction, anyway. So okay, let's check the facts as discoverable on the internet, then...

First, the authors of the article are from a company called the "North American Salt Company". Oh goodness, what a coincidence - they sell Potassium Chloride! At about twice the price of Sodium Chloride, too. They do make this statement on their website:

Better For The Environment!
The key difference, which makes potassium chloride environmentally friendlier than salt, is that potassium itself is primarily a plant nutrient. Additionally, potassium is less damaging to soils and is less mobile than sodium. It also reduces the amount of chlorides discharged to septic or sewage systems by as much as 20%.

Digging a bit deeper, I found that everyone selling Potassium Chloride quotes the same 1966 (!) study that claims up to 20% less Chlorides discharged when using Potassium as compared to Sodium. I also found that every municipality that has trouble with Chlorides says No, using Potassium Chloride does not help. Seems a bit disingenuous to claim Potassium Chloride as "Environmentally Conscious". What it really does is cause slightly less damage (and costs twice as much, don't forget). I guess "less environmentally unfriendly" doesn't sell as well as "more environmentally friendly", right? Is Potassium Chloride technically more environmentally friendly that Sodium Chloride? I admit it, yes. Are both of them harmful enough to the environment to be banned in Municipalities with elevated chloride level issues? Yes.

Here's the pitch...you knew it was coming. Why even mess around with degrees of environmental unfriendliness when you can have the greenest water filtration/conditioning option of all - ECOsmarte. NO chlorides. NO brine discharge. Healthy minerals stay in the water. No hard water scaling. Do the Earth a favor - buy an ECOsmarte water system for your home...just in time for Earth Day!

Oh man, I just found this on the website of a purveyor of salt pool systems:

"What makes the ******* Salt Purification System, by ********, the best choice for your pool? It’s salt…it’s natural… There are no harsh chemicals, nothing damaging to you, your children, or your pool. Salt is also environmentally and ecologically friendly."

How can they actually get away with saying stuff like that?

First of all, salt pools are CHLORINE pools. Nice use of the phrase "purification system", but the reality is that every salt system uses salt to produce CHLORINE. So all you people out there who smugly say - "oh, I have a salt pool", when other pool owners complain about chlorine...hello, you have a chlorine pool, too! Less chlorine, but still chlorine, and the same toxic by-products that come with it. "No harsh chemicals?" What the heck would you call CHLORINE?

Second, for all you people who doubt that salt pool systems damage pools and equipment, I have never found a more thorough investigation into the salt pool issue than this blogger, The Pool Guy. He has pictures and explanations and links and as much information as you care to digest about why and how salt pools harm your pool, your pool equipment and even the waterfalls and expensive decorative stone tile surrounding it.

Last but certainly not least, "Salt is also environmentally and ecologically friendly." What? Since when? Tell that to the folks in Santa Clarita, CA, who can't install new salt-based water softeners because the chloride level in the Santa Clara River is affecting the crops and throwing the local fauna out of balance. Tell that to the folks in Australia who lose more than $130 million of agricultural production annually from salinity. When you have to drain that pool at some point, where is it all going to go? When you backwash the filter, where does the water go? It is illegal in Santa Clarita for new or existing salt pools to be connected to the sewer system. Does anyone out there seriously think they did that just for fun? Apparently the purveyors of the aforementioned salt chlorine generator (I like to call things by their proper name) don't get it. Or maybe they will just say whatever they think will sell you a system. For shame.

The Pool Guy also brought to my attention this article in the Florida Sentinel asserting that salt pools are ecologically friendly pools.... Huh?
Particularly interesting are these two lines, that really truly do come one right after the other:

A salt system converts salt into chlorine, eliminating the need to transport and handle chlorine tablets or liquid. "Chlorine is a toxic chemical," said Tracy DeCarlo, a Florida Green Home certifying agent and a home-design function analyst with Detailed Solutions Inc. "I don't believe we should be drinking it or swimming in it."

The worst thing about this article is that the Florida Green Building Council is stating that a salt system is one of the choices to satisfy the green pool prerequisite to qualify for the "Florida Green Home Standard". Other choices include a competitor of ours that reduces the amount of Chlorine instead of eliminating Chlorine like ECOsmarte Pools will.

So...all you ECOsmarte dealers in Florida are hereby put on notice - straighten those people out down there!

I am a member of the Green Building Council of Ventura County. We just merged with San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties to create the California Central Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council. We hold no such misconceptions about salt pools here. Probably because I would loudly take issue with any such assertions from a salt chlorine generator rep - I've done the research.

(And I have to admit The Pool Guy made some of my research much easier. Thanks for the links, Pool Guy.)

Ok, so sue me, I'm in a snit about brine discharge again. I found this article about another town considering a ban on salt water softeners. Dixon, to be specific. I admit I did not know exactly where Dixon is, but was quickly informed by Wikipedia that it is a town in Solano County, 23 miles north of Sacramento, California. Population a mere 16K. Sounds nice.

What is not nice is what's happening with their treated sewer water...

Here's another one of those -"Uh Oh, Hmmm, salt seems to be a problem here.." articles. This one is from Texas, in a paper called the Community Impact Newspaper, which serves 8 communities in the central Texas area, north of Austin.

The article states that the water source changed for many residents and the new source is not as hard. Now residents need to be told to dial down the amount of salt spewed out from their water softeners, because the TDS (total dissolved solids) content of the water released back into the Colorado River is too high. For TDS read sodium, potassium and chloride - all 3 involved in water softening.

Today, a Rant for you...
Well lookie here, more salt water pool corrosion problems. The Southland Leisure Center in Calgary has a way-cool wave pool, which was injudiciously paired with a salt chlorine generator system. Turns out it's not just a problem...it's a $2.6 million dollar problem.

A big Rave to pool man Steve Riley in Dallas Texas, who voiced his opinion on WFAA-TV that salt-water pools come with serious disadvantages. When the most common thinking is that salt-water pools are the next best thing to sliced bread, I admire the courage and chutzpah of a pool professional to speak out and say what he sees, despite the enormous pressure and countering of the salt chlorine generator industry. All is not perfect in the land of salt. Here is a video clip that ran on WFAA-TV in Texas earlier this month. The reporting doesn't get too deep into the causes, but speaks of definite problems with corrosion of stainless steel and decorative stone work. If you'd prefer a print version - here.

A warm welcome to all of you who have discovered ECOsmarte's new blog. Why are we here? Because our passion is water. We are here to create a forum to discuss and explore the fascinating world of water, how it affects our health and our planet.