The answer to the question in this video's title will surprise you!

Great video Gary and a common confusion. Well done 👍

@GarytheWaterGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Please share video with friends and family.

@legendofawwsheet5883

Жыл бұрын

​@Gary the Water Guy do you guys have positions for water purification experienced technicians?

Essentially is exchanges Calcium and magnesium ions for sodium ions. (Sodium from Brine, that’s generally what’s used) so the TDS stays about the same, but it removes the “hard” minerals. but we all need salt anyway.

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

What he says

@XxDeadShotxX101

Жыл бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuylmao I was gonna say, bc he didn’t really explain at all how it works or it wasn’t shown here

@wirelessguyny3787

5 ай бұрын

@@XxDeadShotxX101 yep, not a great explanation in a youtube short. Basically it's all a losing battle. What you need to do is put a multi-stage filter before your water softener to reduce overall TDS. Ion exchange replaces one mineral with another. Then if you want something more pure to drink you place an RO system under your kitchen sink. When all is said and done you may also need to install a PSI booster because that first multi-stage system will be a drag on everything (yet increase the lifespan of the others).

@mannys9130

4 күн бұрын

@@XxDeadShotxX101 Most Americans have too much sodium in their diet already. The daily 2,400mg NaCl recommendation is too high. That's 1,200mg of sodium and you can certainly get that through food alone. Only in rare circumstances where a person is laboring for hours in very hot environments and sweating a LOT where they consequently drink a LOT of plain water over many hours will you see a deficiency in the sodium and chloride content of their blood because it's lost through sweat. Living in AZ, there are some days where I work outside in the dead of pre-monsoon summer (110°F 5% humidity) and despite drinking a gallon or 2 of water over 4-5 hours of work, I never have to urinate because it's all lost through perspiration. On those days, I'm always sure to add a sports drink or Pedialyte into the mix for a glucose pick-me-up and the ion replacement. Otherwise, I eat a can of chicken noodle soup for a snack once I'm done. But I digress; an average human who doesn't live in Hell and eats a balanced diet including 6-8 glasses of water per day will potentially be harmed by the additional sodium in softened water. I already have high blood pressure and take medication for it, so I don't need to exacerbate it with high dietary sodium. The current hypertension guidelines are too high as well. Anyone from 120-135mmHg systolic is considered "pre-hypertension" but recent data suggests that even those pressures are harmful to our renal, ocular, neurological, and circulatory systems over the years. :( LOTS of folks are walking around with "pre-hypertensive" BPs simply due to their salt, caffeine, and nicotine use and their doctors don't say anything about it because they're guided by established-yet-challenged guidelines which are in the process of being updated right this moment. TL;DR Don't directly drink or cook with softened water.

Somebody else said below that you need to get a water softening kit. And also as far as testing goes softening doesn’t lower the mineral content so it’ll read the same as before. It’s an ion exchange it doesn’t remove minerals.

@GarytheWaterGuy

7 ай бұрын

Agreed. Test hardness with a hardness test kit like this waterestore.com/products/hum-water-hardness-test

@GolzeD2009

5 ай бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuyHi, I want to test my water hardness so I can set the right setting in my appliances (mainly a dishwasher, it operates with added salt to soften our hard water and it wants me to choose a setting based on a table in the manual). I have no need to test the water for drinking purposes, so I don't think any of what was said in the video applies to me. Do I need the strips or will a TDS meter (ppm) work for my case? I asked because I saw you recommended the strips in your comment here but listed the TDS tester in your video description. I found a very cheap one like the one you used in the video, cheaper than strips in my area! Are they essentially the same or what?

From what i understand, to properly use a tds tester. Between test you must rinse the tds sensor with distilled water.

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

yes, that would be ideal.

solid content

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, please share video with friends and family

@Z.the.G

Жыл бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuy just for the polite request I will send it to 10 people that's what I'm talking about stay honorable

Well that's interesting! I installed a water softener but using my TDS meter reading barely changed. I need to quantify!

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Yes, that is correct. See this video kzread.infoNwSnZBIp-x8?feature=share

Do you still need to use an under the sink water filter system in addition to having a water softer system for the home?

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Yes, for your drinking water

so, does that help in clearing out hair and skin problems??

@GarytheWaterGuy

11 ай бұрын

Yes, soft water is much easier on your skin and hair. This video will help kzread.info/dash/bejne/n314ysWimae5lsY.html

The resins are made of polystyrene. How safe is the output water, can it have traces of polystyrene. Can it be toxic or carcinogenic.

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Yes the water is safe. I have never heard of anyone encountering traces of polystyrene.

I live in TX. Our TDS is 250. The water spots are there. How and if possible can we drop the TDS?

@GarytheWaterGuy

26 күн бұрын

If the water is hard, this water softener will fix it. waterestore.com/products/hum-deluxe-water-softener-30-000-grain if not, you need a Reverse Osmosis system like this waterestore.com/products/hum-water-saver-75-gpd-reverse-osmosis-system-brushed-nickel-faucet

You spend more time setting up the experiment and rush through the answer, but I’ll really qualify the answer. What are the benefits of just doing an ion exchange? If they make a test for hard water, but softening the water doesn’t have an affect on the test we use to figure how hard a water is how do we know if it worked? How do we know if it’s still working in the future?

@GarytheWaterGuy

9 ай бұрын

A TDS test is not a hardness test. You need to have the water tested for hardness, setup the water softener based on that result and then retest the treated water for hardness to determine if the water softener is working or not. A TDS test is never used for a water softener. It's like torque and horsepower. Related but not the same.

If I wanted a system to lower the TDS in my water to wash/rinse my car with a spotless wash, what's the best way? I have seen the CR Spotless system and things like it that use deionized resin to remove and lower the TDS, but not sure if that is the most logical or effective way to go. Appreciate any thoughts, as my home already has a salt-free system I'm happy with for my plumbing, but am willing to add another system just for the car washing. Thanks!

@GarytheWaterGuy

3 ай бұрын

I'm a car guy too and for me soft water is enough for washing my cars. There are companies out there that do sell ionization systems for that purpose.

How can it not lower the mineral content if the minerals like calcium and magnesium are bonded to the resin and need to flushed out from time to time?

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Becasue it works on ion exchange. It repalces the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions.

Gary, I just moved to Las Vegas and we have extreme hard water here. Upon arrival, my skin got very dry and painfully itchy. I had a large resin/regen unit installed in the garage for the house and a reverse osmosis unit in the kitchen for drinking water. Unfortunately, My skin is not improving and I m certain the proximate cause is the water. The company that installed the soft water unit tested it and it’s working but they then recommended a US $1500 carbon tank to remove the chlorine in the water. Am I missing any obvious things aside from hardness? This doesn’t seem like a unique problem, but I cannot find any decent resources aside from you. Thanks for any insight.

@GarytheWaterGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, excessive chlorine in the water can cause skin irritation. If the softener didn't solve the problem, that would be the next step.

What is the best, most durable water softener system out there?

@GarytheWaterGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Great question! Here it is waterestore.com/products/hum-deluxe-water-softener-30-000-grain Made in North America, totally non proprietary and will last 25 years plus.

Will use of water softener help in hairfall?

@GarytheWaterGuy

2 ай бұрын

Not sure, hard water is very hard on hair so by softeneing it might help.

Hi! Been following your channel in light of it being one of the only few well informed. I recently moved and now live in Gilbert (near Phoenix), Arizona. The water is both hard (14+ hardness) and high TDS (480+). Water softener settings are set for these. I have an ion exchange water softener. The sheets and clothes have a lot of salt on them. I assume it is because of the exchange. How can I have less salt at the faucet? Open the bypass valve to let some hard water in? Lower the hardness on the system to have less of an exchange? Or something else. I’m trying to avoid an RO house filter bc of cost of water usage. Is RO the only option?

@GarytheWaterGuy

2 жыл бұрын

RO is really the answer for your family. I would also have the raw water before the softener tested for sodium content, it may be that your raw water is high in sodium to begin with.

Very informative channel! My TDS is about 350ppm post softener. Would you recommend adding a reverse osmosis system or a water filtration system to bring down TDS?

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Yes, for drinking water the RO would be a great choice waterestore.ca/products/goldline-50-reverse-osmosis-water-system

@Z.the.G

Жыл бұрын

after running it through an RO system running through an ionizer so you can collect the alkaline water

So it definitely doesn't lower it but does it sometimes add tds? My softened water is almost 200 higher than the hard water from the well.

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Great question, yes id does, but typically only about 10%. I would have your water tested for hardness and make sure your softener settings are correct.

@kmschwem

Жыл бұрын

I saw mine go up after installing my water softener. In my case it's because I ran a regen and I think the residual salt content raised the level. I ran the water for a while and it went back down to normal.

I do not fully understand my softener. leaves brown crap all over shower and turns my skin yellow. my ankles have also swelled to 2x there size. it has been determined something about the resin is gone I guess. supposedly the system has been bypassed for now for several days. maybe a week. still brown crap all over the shower I keep scrubbing off and still yellow skin with extended periods longer than ten minutes under shower. I guess connected to well at the moment. so is the softener it's own water system separate from the well? I have always been on hard water from well. softener is new to me. am I missing something?

@GarytheWaterGuy

10 ай бұрын

It sounds like you have more going on here than hard water. If it is bypassed and the same problem exists, that tells you likley you have massive amounts of iron in your water.

@NoMoreNarrative

10 ай бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuy what are long term effects from showering in this water?

What is the solution for scaling marks

@GarytheWaterGuy

2 жыл бұрын

scaling is caused by hard water, you would need a water softener waterestore.ca/search?type=product&q=hum*%20water*%20softener*

Hello, I have a water softener and a reverse olmosis watts system but the water continues the same measure with a digital tds I would like to know if I can drink the water, tds is 90 to 100 ppm.

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

There must be something wrong with the RO if the water is the same. Drinking water standard for tds is 500 ppm or less.

So what does it mean when it increases the TDS? My well water was at at 536 ppm before. Now it is at 748 ppm.

@GarytheWaterGuy

2 ай бұрын

After water goes through a water softener, the TDS or mineral content is higher than before going through the water softener. Yours is a lot higher so I would check to make sure that the hardness settings on your water softener are set correctly.

@rowdyj9251

2 ай бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuy Thank you for the reply. Mine does not have a hardness setting. You have to use a calculation and based on that calculation is how you program the gallons used.

will a whole house filter in addition to the water softner lower TDS? thanks

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Great question, but no it will not. You will need a reverse osmosis system like this for that waterestore.com/products/hum-water-saver-reverse-osmosis-system-75-gallons-per-day

@lc9991x

Жыл бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuyYou’re saying filters don’t remove things? That doesn’t sound right

So how do I remove or lower my TDS?

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

With a reverse osmosis drinking water system like this one waterestore.com/products/hum-water-saver-reverse-osmosis-system-75-gallons-per-day

do you still test water? if so how can I send you a water sample.

@GarytheWaterGuy

2 минут бұрын

Sure do, the info is here waterestore.com/pages/free-water-test-evaluation-the-water-estore

So.. it’s 300-400 tds safe for drinking?

@GarytheWaterGuy

7 ай бұрын

Drinking water standard for TDS is 500 ppm or less. BUT, there can be other contaminents in the water that would make your water unsafe to drink. IF all of the other water test results are within drinking water standards and your water 300-400 PPM TDS then yes, it is safe to drink.

@JustDvoh

7 ай бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuy Great, just installed a fridge with water dispenser. It’s testing at about 350 tds

Wait what is the point of water “softening” then?

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

It changes the characteristics of water so that it doesn't leave scale deposits behind on everything the water touches including skin, hair, clothes, fixtures, hot water heaters and everything else you can think of. Makes your home easier to keep clean and saves you money by iusing less detergent and making your water using applicances last longer.

@S3XYdriver

Жыл бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuy would it be worth installing a reverse osmosis system directly following a water softener to remove the salt?

My water is 900 ppm after water softener

@GarytheWaterGuy

Ай бұрын

What is it before the softener?

@RacingVideoGaming

Ай бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuy 5 micro water filter and a Sediment water filter

Used a TDS meter on Sam Harris and it was off the charts!

@GarytheWaterGuy

10 ай бұрын

What's Sam Harris

@HeadBroski

9 ай бұрын

@@GarytheWaterGuyI also don’t get the reference.

@ravenstarver1360

9 ай бұрын

@@HeadBroskilittle joke, TDS is an acronym for Trump Derangement Syndrome. People like Sam Harris who overreact to Trump.

@HeadBroski

9 ай бұрын

@@ravenstarver1360 ahhh yup now it makes sense.

So a water softener is not a water filter??

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

It is and it isn't. It does filter water as it passes through it but it softens the water by ion exchange.

All your videos are high quality content. Very well produced, informative and clear cut. I appreciate them, as I'm trying to figure out my system! We have a sulfur smell and the softener seems to be working fine. Thanks for these videos!

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching. Please share video with friends and family.

Does a mineral water need resin to produce a good quality of drinking water?

@GarytheWaterGuy

11 ай бұрын

No it does not

There are some issues with this video review first the test that he did on both soft water and on soft water was two separate videos put together Second, he didn’t even state what kind of water softener or the name brand that he use to soften the water in his test Finally, he didn’t even state whether he used a entry level water softener, or a advance level filtration water softener So this makes it possible to consider what other type of things he left out in this comparison

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

This purpose of this video is to show you that a TDS meter cannot be used to measure water hardness. It was all shot at the same time but some parts were cut out to make it fit under the 59 second length a KZread "short" must conform to. It doesn't matter what make, model or brand of water softener you use you will get the same result. That is, a TDS meter will nopt measure water hardness. I hope you find the information useful, if not you can always do the test yourself and create and post your own video on the topic.

This saved me quite a bit of research. Thanks @garythewaterguy

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Glad it helped. Please share video with friends and family.

How does softening the water not lower the mineral content of the water? I thought softening the water removes minerals, like calcium and magnesium, from the water.

@GarytheWaterGuy

Жыл бұрын

Great question. It replaces the ions from calcium and magnesium so as a result the mineral content stays the same or slightly higher

@ColbyBlack

10 ай бұрын

To what effect

@DR-um2bv

10 ай бұрын

​@@GarytheWaterGuy So what the purpose of it all if it stays in there