Use an electronic de-scaler with a water softener?

[LPSpecial]

Hello,
We live in an area with hard water and have a water softener that uses salt. I'm learning about water softener issues and have been wondering if one can use an electronic water de-scaler device with a softener to prevent mineral deposits from sticking to shower walls, inside of pipes and appliances. I've done a little web searching and I cannot find anyone who recommends that these be used in conjunction with one another, only separately. If anyone knows about this and could offer an opinion, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,
LPSpecial

[Chuckles960]

Electronic descalers are scams.

There is no good (non-BS) reason why they should work, and absolutely no scientific (independent, reproducible) evidence of the claims made. There are only testimonials (anecdotes) and fake "research". Often they will tell you to "try it for yourself and see if it works for you"---of course individual customers are not equipped to make reliable measurements, they only report their feelings about whether it seems to work, and these anecdotes are strongly affected by confirmation bias.

Some years ago my dentist tried to sell me a water-pik type device that claimed to use "magnetized water" (no such thing, since liquids are disordered while magnetization requires orientational correlations). The world is full of snake oil.

https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/que ... ers-a-scam

[enad]

Hello,
We live in an area with hard water and have a water softener that uses salt. I'm learning about water softener issues and have been wondering if one can use an electronic water de-scaler device with a softener to prevent mineral deposits from sticking to shower walls, inside of pipes and appliances. I've done a little web searching and I cannot find anyone who recommends that these be used in conjunction with one another, only separately. If anyone knows about this and could offer an opinion, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,
LPSpecial

Is the salt not doing enough for you? Do you need even softer water? We have very hard water in our area and use a whole house GAC (Granulated Active Charcoal) filter ahead of the Water softener and a 6-stage R.O. system for drinking water.

[hicabob]

Electronic descalers are scams.

There is no good (non-BS) reason why they should work, and absolutely no scientific (independent, reproducible) evidence of the claims made. There are only testimonials (anecdotes) and fake "research". Often they will tell you to "try it for yourself and see if it works for you"---of course individual customers are not equipped to make reliable measurements, they only report their feelings about whether it seems to work, and these anecdotes are strongly affected by confirmation bias.

Some years ago my dentist tried to sell me a water-pik type device that claimed to use "magnetized water" (no such thing, since liquids are disordered while magnetization requires orientational correlations). The world is full of snake oil.

https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/que ... ers-a-scam

I've found that as soon as "magnets" get touted, unless you are looking at an electric motor or similar, your scam alert should go off.

[LPSpecial]

We have very hard water here. I was told around 30 grains of hardness. We did need a new system and it is really great. The water is very soft and this new system is leaps and bounds better than the old one which was installed in 89 or 90. I'm sorry I waited so long to look into it.

[smitcat]

We have very hard water here. I was told around 30 grains of hardness. We did need a new system and it is really great. The water is very soft and this new system is leaps and bounds better than the old one which was installed in 89 or 90. I'm sorry I waited so long to look into it.

What system did you end up going with? Are you in an area where salt systems are being restricted?

[LPSpecial]

We have very hard water here. I was told around 30 grains of hardness. We did need a new system and it is really great. The water is very soft and this new system is leaps and bounds better than the old one which was installed in 89 or 90. I'm sorry I waited so long to look into it.

What system did you end up going with? Are you in an area where salt systems are being restricted?

We went with a Nelsen brand softener and brine tank. There is no salt restriction here. I do know that you can also use potassium pellets in most softeners. The downside is the price for potassium is significantly higher.