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When we soften water using a water softener all we are doing is removing the calcium and magnesium minerals that are responsible for the lime scale around your home and this is done by a process called Ion exchange (please go to HOW DOES A WATER SOFTENER WORK).
There are lots of people who misunderstand the water softening process; the fact is, because of how a water softener works it does leave a trace of sodium in your softened water, which you cannot taste or smell but it does not add salt to it.
If the water hardness in your property before softening is under 400ppm (which is most of our local area) the softened water is safe to drink and does not contain unhealthy levels of sodium. How ever if it does exceed 400ppm a separate hard water tap for drinking is advised. You should also be aware that it is not recommended to use soft water for making up baby formula, as it may affect its nutritional balance or if you are on a doctor prescribed low/zero sodium diet.
The average amount of sodium found in a 250ml glass of softened water contributes to 1% of your daily sodium intake (Recommended daily intake by the NHS 2015 is 2,400mg of sodium). However, it is inadvisable to use soft water for making up baby formula, as it may affect its nutritional balance or if you are on a doctor prescribed low/zero sodium diet.
Some people say softened water tastes different; this is because we have removed the hard minerals from the water which, to some people, can leave the water tasting slightly odd.
What you need to bear in mind, is that everyone’s reactions to different tastes and smells varies, and whilst a difference may be noticed when drinking plain soft water, often, if you add squash, tea or coffee that difference will be unnoticeable.
So, in conclusion; soft water can have an altered taste due to the removal of hard minerals and there is a trace of sodium in your softened water, for example: there is approx. 25mg of sodium in a glass of soft water and 100mg sodium in a glass of whole milk.
It is recognised that soft water is safe to drink, but whether you drink it or not is completely up to personal preference. It is often possible to have a mini tap or three-way tap fitted which provides a hard water feed so you can enjoy the best of both worlds!
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258 The Common
Holt
Trowbridge
BA14 6QL
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