How much sodium is added to water during softening?

It’s a common misconception that the process of water softening increases the salt levels in your water. Even though physical salt is loaded into the water softener, the salt doesn’t actually enter the water supply.  

The salt is used to clean and regenerate resin that acts on the water in a Harvey water softener. In the softening process, it’s sodium that’s added to the concentration, not salt. The amount of sodium in water is raised slightly but remains within safe drinking levels.  

Naturally soft water typically contains between 10 to 50 parts per million (ppm) of sodium. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) says that water with a sodium content of up to 200 ppm is safe to drink. Unless your water is very hard to start with, the softened water sodium content is unlikely to exceed this. Find out more about drinking softened water. 

How much sodium is there in water that’s been softened? 

The average total daily salt intake for an adult is about 9,500 milligrams – this is the equivalent of just over four teaspoons.  

The contribution from softened water would be about 7% – in a typical hard water area and assuming a two litre daily consumption, that’s about a quarter of a teaspoon. 

In comparison, there is five times more salt in a glass of milk than in a glass of softened water. That means it’s well below the threshold recommended by the Foods Standards Agency. 

Find out about softened water for drinking at your address 

To find out what the concentration of sodium in water would be in your home with a softener, book a demonstration with a Harvey soft water expert. They can test the hardness of your current water supply and calculate what the sodium content would be after softening. They can explain how a drinking water tap is easily installed at the same time as your water softener. 

To keep your water softener running smoothly, you’ll need to replace the salt in your system regularly. Check the salt chamber – if your water softener salt is running out, stock up on pure A-grade quality salt for home delivery from our online shop. Buy now.