Can Water Softeners Affect Your Boilers?
Depending on where you live, central heating systems like boilers are essential to your comfort. Unfortunately, those same boilers face a ton of weathering in the form of hard water impurities and lime scale. This can lead to impaired boiler performance and downgraded equipment. Luckily, water softeners can have a positive impact. Let’s dive into how water softeners can affect your boilers below.
The Evidence
It is entirely safe for softened water to circulate in your boiler. We recommend it, as it eliminates the problem of limescale and hard water debris. Hard water ravages your appliances and causes them to operate inefficiently. Limescale could mean the difference between adding hundreds to a household gas bill annually when using the typical amount. Our water treatment systems in San Antonio are also incredibly safe and can lower your gas bill tremendously.
Some Regulations
Boiler manufacturers don’t typically prohibit the use of soft water in the primary circuit. However, you should follow some pertinent industry advice. Recent regulations have allowed soft water to be incorporated with hard water as long as the corrosion inhibitor is properly maintained. For some boilers, it’s fine to use softeners on the side of the boiler dedicated to circulating hot water but not the central radiators—you need to fill those with unsoftened water. This is how your water softeners can affect your boilers.
Standard Practices and Misconceptions
It was a standard practice to fill the central heating system with soft water. This would occur whenever someone installed a water softener in a household. However, combining chemical inhibitors and the aluminum heat exchanger led to corrosion. Because of this, the 1992 BSI standard regulated that you don’t use water softeners with an aluminum heat exchanger.
Water softening protocols in the water treatment industry have undergone many changes in recent years. We can’t deny that water softeners benefit boilers by mitigating limescale and other hard water deposits that cause erosion. Don’t hesitate to get a water softener for your home!
