Can You Drink Softened Water?

If you’re thinking about investing in a water softener for your home, you may have some questions on what to expect and how things will change. One common question we get at Florida Energy Water & Air is whether softened water is drinkable. The short answer is yes. Softened water is safe to drink and can improve the quality of the water throughout your home.

What’s in Softened Water?

The main purpose of a water softener is to convert hard water into soft water. Hard water is typically high in dissolved calcium and magnesium. This mineral content results in mineral deposits and buildup on dishes and faucets. It can even cause your skin to feel dry and itchy after a shower. For those and many other reasons, homeowners typically prefer to have soft water throughout their homes.

A water softener reduces the levels of these hard minerals in your water to effectively “soften” it. This is accomplished through ion exchange. Your water softener uses a supply of salt to filter out calcium and magnesium. The result is softer water that has lower levels of these hard minerals, along with a small increase in sodium.

This increase in sodium does not cause the water to taste salty or become undrinkable. In fact, you likely won’t even notice it’s there. The amount of sodium in a glass of water is typically less than 1% of your daily value of sodium, which is negligible for most people. However, if you’re on an extremely low-sodium diet, you may want to avoid drinking softened water to keep your sodium intake down as much as possible. For a general comparison, softened water may add about 20 mg of sodium in a glass of water, while a glass of low-fat milk contains about 120 mg of sodium.

Is It Better to Drink Softened Water or Hard Water?

For individuals who are interested in the potential health benefits of hard water or soft water, it mostly comes down to personal preference. Some individuals prefer the taste of hard water and want the higher levels of minerals for health reasons. Others don’t mind drinking softer water since the sodium content is so insignificant.

If you would prefer not to drink softened water, there are plenty of options available for your water softening system. You can opt to have a water softener connected only to your hot water heater so that only hot water is softened in your home. Alternatively, you can have a hard water tap installed. Essentially, your source of drinking water will bypass the water softening system so that you can drink hard water while enjoying soft water throughout the rest of your home. A third option to consider is a reverse osmosis water filter which can reduce most minerals, including sodium, from your drinking water.

If you have hard water in your home and would like to have a water softener installed, you don’t have to worry about your supply of drinking water. While softened water is safe to drink for most people, there are plenty of options for having both hard drinking water and a water softening system in your home. To learn more about having a water softener system installed in your home, contact Florida Energy Water & Air today.