If you’ve ever lived with hard water, you know it can have many negative effects on different things throughout your household. Dishes and silverware have water spots, there is scale buildup on showers and tubs, and plumbing can become clogged. On the other hand, there are many benefits of using a water softener. Without the hard minerals found in hard water, our household appliances last longer and perform better. But, do you know the environmental effects of water softeners?
Due to how a water softener works, the salt that is used in water softeners ends up in our wastewater. This can be detrimental to the environment in many ways. The negative environmental effects of water softeners are so great that they have been banned in many states, or at least heavily regulated.
How water softener salt affects the environment
During their regeneration cycle, water softeners discharge salty brine into septic systems and leach fields. This salt makes its way into wastewater and is never fully filtered out at wastewater treatment plants. Because of this, there are some serious environmental impacts that have come to light.
- Aquatic Environments– Contaminated wastewater ends up in our rivers and streams. Freshwater has about 1% salt compared to 25% in saltwater oceans, but the percentage seems to be growing. The increased salinity harms the ecosystem and will eventually kill freshwater animals.
- Farming– A lot of farms irrigate with wastewater. The sodium in wastewater causes soil to lose its fertility, resulting in stunted plant growth and less yield of crops. The contaminated water effects can vary depending on the type of plants, soil, and exposure. But, we cannot afford to ignore its effects on our agriculture.
How can we reduce the environmental effects of water softeners?
The largest way we can have a positive impact is by stopping salt pollution of our wastewater in the first place. Instead of eliminating water softeners all together, The Salt Miner offers a more effective and beneficial alternative. We’ve developed a system that can be added on to any existing softener easily and inexpensively. And, it will collect the salt brine being discharged, allowing it to be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.
In a business setting, this option saves hundreds of thousands of dollars in waste management. For homeowners, it’s as simple as taking out the trash.
If you are looking to stop or reduce salt pollution, there is no better way than The Salt Miner. By joining together, we can leave the world in a better condition than when we found it. Are you ready to make a difference?
