Grass and Salt - LawnSite.com™

flacrawdad · #1 06-13-2007, 08:22 PM

I have a customer that wants to put in a water softener. But he is worried that when he waters his grass and plants, the water from the softener will have too much salt in it. Will the water from a water softener kill or hurt his yard?

Exact Rototilling · #2 06-20-2007, 10:01 PM

Have the plumber set up the cold water in the kitchen & outside tap with regular tap water. Problem solved. I would not drink softened water yet again I would not drink most municipal tap water either. I use a Berkey Light with a post fluoride filter. Contrary to popular belief fluoridated tap water and it's carrier agent is toxic.

http://fluoridealert.org/

jeffinsgf · #3 06-21-2007, 12:34 AM

The softened water has no salt in it whatsoever.

The brine is used to clean the softener periodically (once a week usually). The brine goes into the drain system at that point.

That said, his softener will cycle (clean itself) much more often if his outside spigots are using softened water. I have one that is and one that isn't. I use the one that is to wash the car. I use the one that isn't to water plants.

maintenanceguy · #4 06-21-2007, 04:25 PM

Jeffinsgf is right. The Brine just recharges the zeolite beads with sodium ions. The sodium ions replace the Magnese Calcium ions that cause hard water. You end up with Sodium ions in your water but not Sodium Chloride which is Salt.

There might be some trace amount of salt left but salt's one of the more poisonous chemicals to people. If there's not enough salt to hurt us, it won't hurt the lawn.

But none of that really matters because water softeners are usually installed with a line that bypasses the softener for lawn irrigation. There's no point in wasting softened water on the lawn. Unless the installer wants to sell lots of salt.

flacrawdad · #5 06-21-2007, 08:37 PM

But won't the irrigation timer be of no use, if you bypass the irrigation pipes?

newz7151 · #6 06-22-2007, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flacrawdad

But won't the irrigation timer be of no use, if you bypass the irrigation pipes?

No, the irrigation is cut into the line from the meter BEFORE it gets to the house supply and softener. Of course, we have a well which provides water to secondary spigots for everything. The ones that are installed to the wall of the house do flow soft water but are never really used. I guess it would depend on how much forward thinking was used when the house was plumbed and built. If the house wall spigots are all tied in with the inside fixtures, then I guess you could have a problem. If the house has an irrigation system, you'll have to shut off your meter and "T" into the main line, run it to the current point outside the house where the irrigation comes in and cap the current supply from the house.