A Water Softener is a filtration system that works to remove high concentrations of calcium and magnesium that cause hard water. When water flows through a Water Softener, the system filters out these hard water minerals and the softened water then leaves the water softening system to flow through plumbing.
Believe it or not, Water Softeners are a lot like magnets. In a traditional bar magnet, one end is “positive” and the other is “negative.” So, let’s say you have two bar magnets and try to make both positive ends connect. What happens? They repel each other. No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to get them to connect. But, what happens when you try connecting the positive end of one with the negative end of the other? They immediately connect, SNAP!
The fact that positive and negative things attract is the basic idea of how Water Softeners work.
Calcium and magnesium, the two key culprits of hard water, are both positively charged molecules. And, as the hard water pumps through the softening system, it passes through a filter filled with negatively charged resin beads. Just like with the magnets, as the hard water moves through the resin beads—opposites attract. SNAP!
And, this idea also applies when the system regenerates (aka, cleans) itself. During regeneration, water and salt (positively charged) flushes through the resin beads. Thinking back to the magnet example, the positive charges in the salt, calcium and magnesium all repel each other. The calcium and magnesium detach from the resin beads and drain out along with all the salty water.