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Water softeners have grown enormously in popularity in recent years, partly due to the many DIY programs and advertisements in which they appear. According to manufacturers of different types of softeners, many people in the Netherlands have hard tap water and their products can remedy this by removing limescale from the water. But how hard is our drinking water really? And what is the use of these water softeners?
One of the people who finds his tap water too hard is Harry Smorenberg. He prefers not to because of the limescale that hard water causes. Soft water has less calcium, also known as lime, in the water. This should lead to less limescale in, for example, the coffee maker and the bathroom.
There is a promising product on the market that claims to solve hard water, namely a water softener. In addition, manufacturers promise in their advertisements that this product will make you need less shampoo and detergent, the water will taste better, household appliances will last longer, your skin will be healthier, your hair will be softer and your energy bill will be lower. Some manufacturers even dare to state that viruses, pesticides, medicine residues, heavy metals, bacteria and other substances are removed from the water down to the smallest molecule.
Harry tacks and decides to purchase a certain type of water softener for his new house, namely an ion exchanger. He had this installed by a licensed plumber shortly after the completion of his house.
Types of water softeners
There are roughly three types of water softeners in circulation. You have magnetic water softeners, water softeners based on salt and water softeners with a filter. A magnetic water softener works – as the name suggests – on magnetism. This should ensure that calcium and magnesium do not bond with each other. The effect of this has not been proven.
A water softener based on regeneration salt, also known as softening salt. Harry’s ion exchanger falls into this category. Special resin spheres and the sodium ensure that calcium and magnesium are filtered out of the water. This does not make your water salty, because the brine water is drained to the sewer. This is not beneficial for the environment and for the quality of the drainage water.
And then the last type – which cannot officially be called a water softener – has a filter. This filters the limescale from the water that flows through the pipes. However, a small amount of lime remains in the water.
Shocking number of bacteria discovered in water
However, just one year after connecting the water softener, a high level of bacterial colonies was found in Harry’s tap water. This is evident from measurements of the water in his home, where water was taken at various points. Namely at a tap point in the meter cupboard, which is in front of the water softener connection, and at the bathroom and kitchen faucet, which are respectively two and five meters away from the connection via the pipe. Both taps are first disinfected with alcohol, after which the water is allowed to flow through for a long time.
The limit value for colonies in drinking water is <100 colony-forming units (cfu) per milliliter at 22 °C. With Harry Smolenberg this level was far above the legal drinking water standard, namely even above 1000, according to reports. And that while the water for the connection to the water softener still complies with the standard. So it cannot be the supplier of the drinking water.
Harry had a total of three water measurements carried out by the Vitens lab. In between all measurements, there has been a restoration repair and an extensive service and a replacement water softener has been installed, which should guarantee the correct water quality. In all measurements, the number of bacteria is above the legal standard.
Danger to vulnerable people
In a response to Harry, the manufacturer indicated that bacteria are actually good for developing resistance. Oasen and Vitens, on the other hand, argue that the level of bacteria found in its water could pose a health risk to vulnerable people.
Water experts such as Robert Hofman and Jan Peter van der Hoek also confirm this. They state that filters provide an excellent breeding ground for bacteria to grow. According to Hofman, this is unfortunately a problem that suppliers of those devices usually do not mention.
Tap water in the Netherlands is already of good quality
According to Roberta Hofman, water researcher at KWR – the knowledge institute for water, many of the water softener manufacturers’ claims are correct. This way your appliances do indeed work better, you need less energy, the water becomes softer and you need less shampoo, conditioner and detergent if you remove calcium from the water.
However, the vast majority of the calcium in water has already been extracted from drinking water in the Netherlands. Our drinking water also contains almost no bacteria and drinking water companies must comply with strict legal requirements. For example, there must be a certain percentage of calcium in our drinking water. The WHO states that people need calcium for their bones and teeth and lime in the water is therefore necessary as a source of calcium. That is why a water softener is not necessary, but superfluous.
Filters are a breeding ground for bacteria
Hofman is also not surprised that many bacteria were found in Harry’s drinking water after the installation of the ion exchanger. “If you send the water over a filter every time, the bacteria will attach to that filter. And fresh water with a little bit of nutrients is added every day. So such a bacteria feels quite fine there and starts to grow there. Then you get more bacteria in the water. That happens with every filter.”
‘Water softeners can deteriorate the microbiological quality of drinking water’
Jan Peter van der Hoek, professor of drinking water technology at TU Delft and chief officer at Waternet, states that water softeners can deteriorate the microbiological quality of drinking water. “A place is created where the water remains stagnant for a long time, extra surface, so an ideal place for bacteria to grow.” According to him, this risk is known to drinking water companies, but Van der Hoek has no insight into how many complaints are received every year. When asked by Kassa, water companies Vitens and Waternet indicate that they sporadically receive complaints and questions about this.
Reply Remon
Remon, the company that makes water softeners like Harry Smolenberg’s, indicates that bacterial formation can occur anywhere in the home for various reasons. According to the company, it cannot be determined with certainty that the bacterial formation originated in the water softener. Remon has offered to pick up Harry’s water softener and reimburse the purchase price. Harry takes this into consideration, but wants to wait for Kassa’s broadcast before making a decision about this.