Is Softened Water Safe to Drink?
For most healthy adults, yes. A softener adds a small amount of sodium. Here’s how much, who should think twice and why RO at the kitchen sink settles the question.
Also asked: Do I Need Whole-Home Reverse Osmosis? · Is Bottled Water Better Than Reverse Osmosis at Home?
How much sodium is in a glass
In this guide
The short answer
For most healthy adults, yes. Softening trades hardness minerals for a small amount of sodium or potassium. At typical Orlando hardness, that’s about 13 milligrams of sodium in an 8-ounce glass, less than 1 percent of the daily value. If you’re on a sodium-restricted diet, ask your doctor, and know that kitchen RO removes most of it.
What softening changes
Resin captures calcium and magnesium and releases sodium (or potassium, if you use potassium chloride) in their place. Salt recharges the resin, then the system rinses the brine away before you use the water again. Softened water isn’t salt water. It just carries a little extra sodium.
Do the math for your water
A common rule of thumb is about 8 mg of sodium per liter for each grain per gallon of hardness removed.
- At 7 grains per gallon: 7 x 8 = about 56 mg per liter
- An 8-ounce glass is about 0.237 liters
- 56 x 0.237 = about 13 mg of sodium per glass
FDA’s daily value for sodium is 2,300 mg, so that glass adds well under 1 percent. Your own number depends on your hardness. OUC reports about 7 grains per gallon.
Who should think twice
If your doctor has you on a sodium- or potassium-restricted diet, ask about your drinking water. For infant formula, follow your pediatrician’s advice. In either case, an RO faucet takes the question off the table.
Your drinking-water options
- Drink softened water. Most households do, and kettles and coffee makers stay scale-free.
- Add kitchen RO. It removes most of the added sodium along with other dissolved solids, at its own faucet.
- Leave one cold tap unsoftened. It avoids the sodium but keeps the hardness at that tap.
If it tastes salty
Softened water shouldn’t taste like brine. A salty taste after a recharge cycle can mean a rinse, drain or valve problem. Put the system in bypass and call for service.
How Sunstorm handles drinking water
We put the finest treatment where it matters most, the water your family drinks, then take care of every other tap so the whole house benefits.
HydroSip RO
Four-stage reverse osmosis under the sink with its own faucet, for drinking water, coffee, cooking and ice.
See HydroSip →HydroOne or HydroDuo
Catalytic carbon, KDF and 10% cross-linked softening resin treat the water where it enters your home, so every shower, sink and appliance gets filtered, soft water.
See HydroOne →Want RO at every tap? We install Hydro360 whole-home reverse osmosis too. For most homes, filtration and softening plus kitchen RO is the better value: the same drinking water at the sink, without paying to purify the water you shower, flush and wash with. See Hydro360
Questions homeowners ask
Is the sodium the same as table salt?
Not quite. The water carries dissolved sodium, not salt crystals. The brine is rinsed out after each recharge.
Does RO remove sodium?
Yes. RO removes most dissolved solids, including most of the sodium softening adds.
Is softened water OK for pets?
For healthy pets, generally yes. Follow your vet’s advice for pets on special diets.
Can I use potassium instead of salt?
Yes, in compatible systems. Potassium chloride costs more and may need different settings.
Sources
- NSF: water softener standard (NSF/ANSI 44)
- EPA WaterSense: water softeners
- FDA: sodium in your diet
- OUC: water services and quality FAQs
About this guide: We check our guides against current EPA, CDC, state and utility sources and update them as rules and equipment change.
