By now, most of us have a water purifying system in our homes. Some are dependent on a reverse osmosis system to remove the impurities. Others have a water softener to soften the water.

Through a reverse osmosis system, you will only get water free from dirt and bacteria. But, the hardness can not be removed. So, again, a water softener at your home or garden will provide you water with low TDS, and conductivity which will come to no use as they are left with various impurities.

So, which is a better option for getting a total solution? You will be getting many websites that use heavy languages which only people aware of water treatments will understand.

Today we are here only to provide you with an easy guide and break the shackle between the reverse osmosis and water softener purification system.

Difference Between Reverse Osmosis and Water Softener

The first thing we need to be started with is to interpret the difference between reverse osmosis and a water softener. The job of both of them is linked with water, but they carry significant differences. The main differences are in their performance.

Water softeners work by softening the water. At the same time, the main task of a reverse osmosis system is to filter and purify the water. It would help if you spotted the differences between the two of these terms.

Water Softener

Coming towards the water softener, they use a kind of ionization technology to soften the water. This is done by removing some unwanted minerals.

Water sometimes can contain excess unnecessary minerals like calcium and magnesium ions. These are the reasons for which water becomes more complicated than they are. Besides, many other features of regular water are interrupted because of the presence of such ingredients. By removing these, a softener softens the water and makes them eligible for your use.

Advantages of Water Softener

Supply Natural Water

Water has it is birth and neutral taste. The presence of any foreign ingredients can hamper this taste. Again, when water becomes hard, the flavor becomes irregular and varies from texture to texture. This water can be an excellent source for a wide range of plants.

By softening and removing those minerals, the normal and natural taste of the water is derived from a water softener.

Shiny and spotless dishes/Pots

You will notice the differences between the washed dishes through normal water and impure water. You can spot red marks on your words when you wash them with water full of calcium and magnesium. Plant pots are not so affected by treated water.

But, soft water can fix this problem which can be obtained from a water softener.

Brighter laundry

Hard water also leaves stains on your clothes. A long-term washing of the dresses with this water can end up spoiling them. But you can quickly get the opposite result: your fresher and brighter laundry by softening the water.

Less clogging in pipes

The scale that forms within the lines turns them to clog. The best solution for this problem is a water softener. Pure water coming out of these pipes will enable them to last longer and sustain less clogging.

This point is highly notable for gardeners. Most of us usually complain about jamming the spray nozzle. But, have you have thought water could be the reason for that?

Long-lasting appliances

Besides those, hard water is also harmful to many of your other machines. They are more significant reasons for forming more rusts on your iron and steel components.

Whatever you are using to cultivate crops, greenhouse or hydroponics, water plays the most vital role. So, the equipment that comes in touch with water may be rust-prone or clog effected. But, if you use well-treated water, these troubles can be reduced in half.

Reverse Osmosis System

Then comes a reverse osmosis system whose prime job is to make your water free from those impurities. Using this system, you are getting filtered water all over your house, free from bacteria. You need no longer boiling your water to make them free from contaminants.

The effects of a reverse osmosis system in your water are:

Better in Water Quality

Water that you get out from a reverse osmosis system is entirely pH balanced and minerals neutral. As a result, you are getting better tasting water which you won’t get from other regular water sources.

Getting rid of chemicals

The main task of this system is to make your water utterly free of any chemical presence. And, the even better news is that this system doesn’t use any chemicals in performing its job.

Softening water

A reverse osmosis system also softens the water to some extent. The sodium content of the water can also sometimes be the reason for the water’s hardness. This system can only remove this sodium and can make your water soft.

But, you cannot expect more extended softening methods from this system, like a water softener, which can regulate.

Removing color and odor

The reverse osmosis system releases active oxygen by carrying out a particular reaction. This component helps in making the colorful substances colorless and killing germs. As a result, your water can no longer contain any odor and colors.

Water Softener or Reverse Osmosis: Which is Better?

We have first discussed well the fundamental differences between a water softener and reverse osmosis. So that, now we can come to this crucial moment of identifying which among two of these systems is better for you.

The answer is quite simple. It depends on the type of performance you want and also requires the most depending on your aspect.

The main task of a water softener is to provide you with soft water, and reverse osmosis purifies the water supply, which is full of impurities.

Now, if the water in your area is complex and mainly consists of calcium and magnesium ions, you would probably need a water softener. In that case, all you need is to soften your water and make them eligible for use.

Again, suppose the water is more on the side of impurities rather than hardness. In that case, you need to be assisted by a reverse osmosis system. Elements and compounds like fluorine, chloride, salt, pesticides, fertilizers, detergents, leads, sulfates, and nitrates are removed by this system.

So, you will decide which one among them you need for your case and select according to it.

Do I Need Both the Reverse Osmosis and Water Softener?

At times, the combination of both reverse osmosis and water softener is a life savior. In most cases, you can have both to get the best out of your water. Also, you can get many of the other facilities by using both at the same time:

Assisting one another

Water softener helps the reverse osmosis system by taking off some pressure by removing the magnesium and chloride ions. As a result, better life of the reverse osmosis system is maintained.

The difference in functioning

The functioning of both of them are different. As one filters all the impurities from the water, one softens the water by removing heavy minerals. As a result, a co-relation is built between the two of them to perform the desired water edibility task.

Costings: Energy is saved out of a water softener system. The house appliances are also aided with a better lifespan. So again, you can find many customers saving many dollars every year once they have stopped buying water bottles for the reverse osmosis system.

Final Words

Both of these filtration systems are widely used in gardening. Especially, water quality plays a vital role when you are cultivating crops with hydroponics or aeroponics techniques.