27/06/2023
Here's the funny thing: Here in southwestern Nova Scotia, our water is not terribly hard. We mainly deal with
*Iron
*Manganese
*Hydrogen Sulfide
*Low pH
All of these things can be treated without the use of salt.
Many people in our area who get their water from a well have no complaints about the troubles of hard water, because normally our water is only slightly to moderately hard at the worst.
If you have rusty, smelly water that chews up your pipes, that can be treated without salt.
Water softeners use salt to exchange sodium ions for calcium and magnesium ions in your water. Calcium and magnesium cause white scale and water spots, buildup inside of pipes and heat exchangers, and increased soap usage. They can also exchange sodium for iron and manganese, which is why they do still work well in our area, but there are other ways to achieve the same result.
People who live in rural parts of Nova Scotia that have wells on their property are in a bind these days. Water-softener salt, which is used to treat hard water, is in hot demand because there is little of it at stores in the province.
