Do Water Softeners Have Filters? Not Exactly!

You know that your water softener removes hard minerals from your water which makes your water more useful for day to day living, and your water comes out of your faucets crystal clear.

But hard minerals are tiny and you would only see large particles in your water if they were there, are there filters inside of your water softener that filter out particles?

Although a water softener does contain screens and media, a standard water softener does not have any filters inside of the tank to filter out particles or sediment that may be in your water. An external sediment filter may be used if you have sediment in your water.

Many people think that a water softener is a cure-all for all of your water treatment issues including filtering of sediment from your water, but a water softener is only for the removal of hard ions from your water which corrodes your water fixtures and makes water less effective for cleaning and other uses.

Do water softeners filter water at all?

There are screens in most water softeners that do filter out sediment and debris, but they are used to prevent certain parts of the water softener from getting clogged or jammed. These screens only filter a small amount of water that goes through certain parts of the water softener.

Water softeners have an injector (sometimes called a venturi) which creates the draw that draws the brine (saltwater) from the brine tank. This injector has a very small hole in the middle of it that creates the draw that is needed.

If this tiny hole gets clogged or blocked, the injector will not be able to create a draw and therefore the water softener will not get the brine that it needs to regenerate the water softener resin in its tank.

Do water softeners have screen filters?

A water softener has a screen located before the injector to prevent debris from getting into the injector. This screen is only to protect the injector from debris that might come from the brine tank and not for filtering the water coming out of the water softener.

There are also filtering screens inside of the water softener tank that prevents the water softener resin from escaping the tank during the regeneration process.

These filtering screens (also known as baskets) have fine slits in them to allow your water to flow in and out of the tank, but keep the water softening resin in the tank.

They can also work as a filter for larger particles, but that is not their primary purpose.

While these screens do not filter all of the water coming out of a water softener, they are very important for the proper operation of a water softener.

Because a water softener is a mechanical device with moving parts working together, debris and sediment can cause wear and tear on the moving parts and clogging of the inlets and outlets throughout the systems control valve.

Why doesn’t a water softener have filters in it?

Because a water softener is an enclosed system, it would be very difficult to replace or clean a filter that was inside of the system itself.

Any type of opening that would be needed to access an internal water filter would have a chance of leaking and would not be very easy to open without depressurizing the entire system.

It simply would not be as practical for a water softener to have an internal water filter as it is to have an external water pre-filter.

Should I have an external sediment pre-filter for my water softener?

Having a sediment pre-filter to filter out sediment and debris before your water gets to your water softener is never a bad idea. Even if your water is generally free of any sediment, changes in rainfall or your water source may also bring sediment in your water.

Municipal water supplies are also subject to sediment that could get into your water softener, and since there is no internal filter in a standard water softener, an external sediment pre-filter is still a good idea.

Doesn’t the water softening resin filter the water?

Although the water softener resin that is inside of a water softener can work as a filtering media for large sediment, most sediment is too small to be captured by the softener resin.

Because the water softener resin gets stirred-up during the regeneration process, most sediment will gradually work its way through the resin bed and into the home.

Does my water need filtering after my water softener?

If you are concerned about the sodium content in your drinking water, it is highly recommended to filter your softened water after it has gone through your water softener.

Although a water softener does not add a significant amount of sodium to your drinking water, the amount of sodium in your drinking water will usually be higher after your water softener has regenerated.

If your water already has a significant amount of sodium in it, the water that you drink after the water softener has regenerated may have an unhealthy level of sodium in it.

To alleviate this problem, a reverse osmosis drinking water system may be used to lower the amount of sodium and other dissolved solids in your water by up to 98%.

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A water softener is for removing hard ions from your water just as the name implies. A standard water softener is not a filter, does not contain a filter to remove sediment, and is not designed or intended to filter out sediment from your water.

If you are concerned about sediment in your water, you should consider installing a water-sediment pre-filter to protect your water softener and stop sediment from getting into your water faucet screens and showerheads.