With new things launching in the market, it is alright to get confused. It isn’t uncommon to be unaware of the differences and similarities between newly launched things, for instance, water purifiers and water softeners. When considering a water purifier for home, one of the basic questions that one faces is which is more important; water softening or water purification. A simple understanding of how both works and their differences can help you to make a better-informed decision on choosing the right system for your house.
Water Softener and Water Filtration: Everything That You Must Know
Water Purifiers
Water filters are known to eradicate a lot of unnecessary compounds that are present in the water like sediment, sand, dirt, and all other large particles. Based on what tap water purifier you have invested in, they can also feature chlorine, sulfur, iron, pesticides, and fluoride. The water purifier can help you to drink Waterdrop filtered water safely. They can remove most of the unwanted stuff from your drinking water that might otherwise be harmful to your body. Specific water purifiers are designed and made for specific substances. The carbon water purifiers, for instance, minimizes the presence of odor, chlorine apart from reducing the volatile organic compounds.
Water Softeners
On the flip side, a water softener is used to make the hard water soft. While this might be redundant to you, that is how it works. The water softener is specially designed for hard water. For those who don’t know, hard water runs inclusive of extreme levels of calcium and magnesium. The water softeners through multiple processes remove the hardness of the water. So, a water softener might be one kind of water purifier. Remember, that not all water purifiers are water softeners.
Water Purifiers and Here’s How they Work?
Unlike the water softeners, the water purifier is based on the stages of purification and are capable of filtering out minerals and all other impurities like:
- Heavy metals
- Pesticides
- Chlorine
- Viruses
- Bacteria
- Sand
- Dust
- Dirt
The tap water purifier has a complex operating system when compared with a water softener, given how it doesn’t have a single process but rather includes different filtration layers and stages. To put it in simple words, the water purifier for the home includes a two-step process in which the primary process is physical filtration and the secondary process is chemical filtration. While physical filtration includes getting rid of physical contaminants like sand, dust, and dirt, chemical filtration focuses on removing the impurities that you otherwise cannot see with your naked eye, for instance, viruses and bacteria followed by certain chemical impurities like heavy metals, pesticides, and chlorine.
Can Water Softener Get Your Water Purified?
A tap water purifier was isn’t designed to purify your water, although people think it does. However, there is a stark difference between how a water purifier for a home and a water softener works. The two systems have different ways of functioning when it comes to treating water. The water softener on the other hand minimizes the hardness of the water but is unable to filter out all the impurities; visible and invisible like the water purifier.
When You Need Water Purifier for Home?
You would be needed to invest in a water purifier for your home when the supplied water in your region is not safe and healthy for drinking. Thanks to the various purification stages a water purifier uses along with the different filters followed by the membranes, a water purifier can filter all types of impurities and make your drinking water fit for drinking.
When Do You Need Water Softener for Home?
The water softener works towards turning the hard water soft through the removal of minerals like magnesium and calcium. A water softener is needed at home if you:
- Wish to make your drinking water safe and healthy for daily activities like utensils, laundry, bathing, etc
- Want to steer clear of any kind of home appliances and bath fittings damage like the dishwasher, water heaters, and washing machines.
To put it in simple terms, you need a water softener when you would have to make the water perfect for all types of daily chores except consuming it.
Experts Explain If You Can Use Both Water Softener and Water Purifier Interchangeably
You cannot use the water softener and water purifier for home interchangeably. This is because both of them have different functions which have no similarities with each other. While the water softener is brought for hard water to turn them soft, the water purifier is installed to remove the chemical pollutants, and physical adulterants. You cannot replace a water softener with a water purifier or vice versa, since their working principles are not the same.
You might by now have learned the basic difference between a tap water purifier and a water softener. Many people get confused between these two systems. Based on the diminishing quality of the water, you have to decide which one of the two you need to install at home. If you face a lot of stains or suffering from excessively dry skin and scalp then using a water softener is a must. However, for overall healthy and safe drinking water, a water purifier is a must.
