Water softeners are highly effective at removing the minerals that are responsible for hard water. However, water softeners are often not enough. If you have impurities in your water, you may want to have the water that was softened passed through a second set of reverse osmosis water filters. Reverse osmosis filters have a difficult time removing calcium, so it is better to have these minerals removed from the water softener before having them passed through the reverse osmosis water filter. While both units are great by themselves, it is best to use them together.

How Water Softeners And Reverse Osmosis Filters Work

A water softener removes hard water by running it over beads that are designed to attract the hard minerals to them, softening the water. The reverse osmosis filter uses a membrane that separates impure water from pure water. Normally, unfiltered water has minerals that want to migrate to the filtered water to achieve an equilibrium, but reverse osmosis water filters place pressure on the unfiltered water to avoid doing this.

Added Benefits Of Reverse Osmosis Filtration

Unlike with water softeners, reverse osmosis filters have the ability to remove the taste of chemicals and minerals from your water. Therefore, if you do not like how your water tastes, it is a good idea to have your water filtered through reverse osmosis. And unlike with other water filtration systems, reverse osmosis does not use chemicals.

Remove Minerals That The Water Softener Missed

While water softeners will remove many of the hard minerals that cause hard water, they will sometimes fail to remove some of them. Therefore, the reverse osmosis water filter is a second pass that removes the remainder of the minerals that were left behind by the water softener.

Save Money By Lowering Maintenance Costs

Using reverse osmosis and a water filter may seem like a splurge, but purchasing one is actually a great way to lower your expenses. Hard water can take its toll on appliances and can cost you money in maintenance. But if your water is softened, it will be much more gentle on your home and will end up costing you less money in the long-term.

Another issue with running a reverse osmosis filter without a water softener is that the hard water can clog the reverse osmosis filters. This will force the filter to work harder, which can run up the utility bills.