redlzrd Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 I am considering adding a water softener to my house. I will probably use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride as the softening agent. I am interested in learning the pros and cons of using water that is softened by either potassium chloride or sodium chloride in a Spa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 I am considering adding a water softener to my house. I will probably use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride as the softening agent. I am interested in learning the pros and cons of using water that is softened by either potassium chloride or sodium chloride in a Spa. It's not a problem and it's actually a plus since the softener will remove any metals that might be present in the water. Neither sodium nor potassium ions have an adverse effect on spa water and both sodium and chloride ions (salt) are formed in the water anyway if you are using chlorine for sanitation and have no effect on bromine sanitation. I would add enough calcium chloride to the spa to bring the calcium hardness up to around 130 ppm to help prevent foaming in any case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redlzrd Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Thank you for your response. I realized I would need to watch the calcium closer and that is what I was mostly concerned about. The Spa seems to stay in the 130 PPM range without much adjustment now. The local spa dealer for Cal Spas requires that I use Metal Gon on a tub refill and Defender weekly or it will void the warranty. The fact I have to use Metal Gon should be an indicator that using softened water should be good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaTechincian Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Our store deals with a lot of people out in the country and we have had multiple customers that have well water and a water softener. The experience I have seen with the customers that use the water softeners to fill there tub up, is that you will get a chalky white residue on the surface of the tub. I recommend that you do not use a water softener to fill your tub. et the water trucked in or deal with the well water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hot_water Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 It is usually best to keep the soft water inside, and keep the irrigation system and hose bibs on unsoftened water. I know that after years, sodium accumulates in the soil and can affect your lawn and garden, but I'm not sure if potassium has similar bad effects. I brought out one soft water hose bib for car washing... no water spots... very cool. As for the tub, why use a softener to remove the calcium and magnesium, then add calcium back in? You might want to check on the price of potassium chloride. I've heard it is twice the price of NaCl, but here in San Jose, CA I pay $4 at Costco for NaCl while KCl is $21 at Lowe's. They both work equally well in terms of water softening. A softener will take out some amount of iron, but if you have significant iron or other metals, it will shorted the life of the softener resin. Iron is usually only a problem for folks with well water. If you have a lot of iron, a different iron filter ahead of the softener is sometimes needed. If you have municipal water, you can get a water quality report that will tell you what's in your water. You can buy a chemical that you add to your initial fill which sequesters iron and other metals that stain the acrylic. Softeners are great. All your fixtures will stay much, much cleaner and lasts much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Brown Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 I am considering adding a water softener to my house. I will probably use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride as the softening agent. I am interested in learning the pros and cons of using water that is softened by either potassium chloride or sodium chloride in a Spa. Potassium Chloride actually acts like a fertilizer.....ran my softener discharge on my lawn for years and it loved it. Only drawback is that you need to use more potasium than you do if using plain old softener salt. Wasn't an issue when it was $6 bag....at $20 I went back to salt and put the runnoff back into the old pit. Either way it works fine in the spa. I use softened water due to alot of iron in the water and not wanting to deal with that in the spa. Fill with filtered soft water and bring the hardness back up and all is good. Pretty new to spas, but I've had a pump company dealing with wells for 35+ years.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PreservedSwine Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 IIRC, there was some bogus information years ago, that softened water was more corrosive than non-softened water. While the study has since been corrected, you will still hear that myth presented as fact at many retailers. Assuming you have an acrylic spa shell, don't be concerned about low calcium levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveWater Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 Hey, Been hanging out on this site for a bit, but saw this post and thought it was worth sharing this article on potassium vs sodium for water softening. Basically, potassium may be better for garden purposes. Either would likely be OK for spa use, I think, but make sure have no health issues with either sodium or potassium. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bella_Jeri Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 I am planning to add a water softener to my home since we have hard water problems. I plan to also run a separate line off the softener so I can wash my cars. I am also planning on buying a electromagnetic water softener which my plumber recommends. This will allow it to be run through the entire house and be used for cooking, ice cubes and drinking. Have any of you had any experience with this kind of softener instead of the typical salt based systems. Thanks! Update: I just now purchased Fleck Water Softener from Amazon, this site has given good review about all the products. https://watergadget.com/best-water-softener-reviews/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TayTaylor Posted October 11, 2019 Report Share Posted October 11, 2019 Not sure about the amount of material in your hard water. I have medium hardness water in my area. I installed a Fleck water softener six months ago, model 5600SXT 48,000, which is suitable for medium hardness water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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