ᐅ Setting the water softening system to ensure the water is suitable for drinking and cooking

Hello,

I use a Grünbeck softliq:SD water softening system for descaling my water.
According to Grünbeck’s calculation formula for determining sodium content, I get a sodium concentration of 250.6 mg/l.
This means my softened water exceeds the limit of 200 mg/l set by the drinking water regulations.

My household consists of two adults and two children (4 years and 1 month old). For the infant, I use water suitable for babies purchased from the beverage store.
The rest of the family uses the softened water for cooking and drinking.

I have read that there are mineral waters with sodium contents greater than 250 mg/l. Additionally, the consumer advice center states that the softening process removes minerals such as magnesium and calcium from the water.

I see three options:

• Option: Use the softened water with a sodium content of 250 mg/l for cooking and drinking (after all, some mineral waters contain even higher sodium levels)
• Option: Reduce the softening degree of the water softener so that the sodium content stays below 200 mg/l (this means increasing the hardness of the softened water from 5 °dH to 12 °dH (degrees German hardness) -> resulting in more scaling)
• Option: Use the softened water with 250 mg/l sodium only for cooking, not for drinking (purchase drinking water from the beverage store)

At the moment, I tend to choose Option 1 since there are mineral waters with sodium contents above 250 mg/l. However, if it is not recommended for health reasons, I could reduce the softening degree of the system.

I look forward to your opinions on this topic and recommendations on which of these three options you suggest.

Sodium Content Calculation:
Sodium content softened water (current) = (raw water hardness [°dH] - softened water hardness [°dH]) x 8.2 + raw water sodium concentration [mg/l] = (34 °dH - 5 °dH) x 8.2 + 12.8 mg/l = 250.6 mg/l

MrSpok123 schrieb:

Hello,

For descaling my water, I use a Grünbeck softliq:SD water softening system.
According to Grünbeck’s calculation formula for determining sodium content, I get a sodium concentration of 250.6 mg/l.
This means my softened water exceeds the limit value of 200 mg/l set by the drinking water regulations.

My household consists of 2 adults and 2 children (4 years and 1 month old). For the infant, I use water suitable for infants purchased from a beverage store.
The rest of the family uses the softened water for cooking and drinking.

I have read that some mineral waters have sodium contents > 250 mg/l. Furthermore, according to the consumer protection agency, the softening process removes minerals like magnesium and calcium from the water.

For me, there are now 3 options:

• Option 1: Use softened water with a sodium content of 250 mg/l for cooking and drinking (after all, some mineral waters contain even higher sodium levels).
• Option 2: Reduce the degree of water softening so that the sodium content stays below 200 mg/l (this means increasing the hardness of the softened water from 5 °dH to 12 °dH (from about 90 ppm to 215 ppm) → more scaling).
• Option 3: Use softened water with 250 mg/l sodium only for cooking, not for drinking (water for drinking must be purchased from the beverage store).

I’m currently leaning towards Option 1, since there are mineral waters with sodium levels > 250 mg/l. However, if this is not advisable for health reasons, I could reduce the softening level of the system.

I look forward to your opinions on this topic and which of the three options you would recommend.

Calculation of Sodium Content:
Sodium content of softened water (current) = (raw water hardness [°dH] – softened water hardness [°dH]) × 8.2 + sodium content of raw water [mg/l] = (34 °dH (610 ppm) – 5 °dH (90 ppm)) × 8.2 + 12.8 mg/l = 250.6 mg/l

By the way, where in Germany do you have 34 °dH (610 ppm)???

Set the water hardness to a reasonable level, around 10-12°dH (German degrees of hardness). This will help you avoid major issues with limescale.
If you descale that much, over time you might end up with salt deposits rather than limescale.

Oh, and @RE-1407 – That’s not unusual. Just go to Würzburg. It can go as high as 45°dH there. No joke. Overall, Germany has rather hard water.

KarstenausNRW schrieb:

Set the water hardness to a reasonable level, around 10–12°dH (179–215 ppm). This prevents major issues with scale buildup.
If you soften the water too much, over time you may get salt deposits instead of scale.

Thank you very much for your responses so far. I think I will run a separate water line to the kitchen faucet before the water softener.

Is it really realistic that salt deposits will form with such a high level of softening as in my case (reducing hardness from 34°dH (607 ppm) to 5°dH (89 ppm))?
My main concern with softened water is generally to protect the bathroom and toilet fixtures.

MrSpok123 schrieb:

Is it really realistic that with such a high level of water softening as in my case (reducing hardness from 34 °dH to 5 °dH) salt deposits occur?

There is a 100% chance of salt deposits forming. You have a very high salt usage, so standing water will leave salt stains (and, without proper maintenance, crusting similar to lime scale). Think of it like harvesting sea salt.
Protecting your bathroom with water hardness around 10-12 °dH (degree German hardness) benefits both the water quality and your budget.

Salt deposits also cause metal parts to corrode more quickly. So, this can backfire when it comes to the fixtures.