Even though their popularity has decreased over the last decade or so, swamp coolers can still be found in millions of homes across the United States. These coolers provide homeowners with cool moist air insoaring temperatures, and serve as great energy efficient alternatives to their big, humming brothers—the air conditioners.
Since, swamp coolers use water for their operations, a question that homeowners often ask is:
Should softened water be used for swamp coolers?
Especially in areas where hard water is a big issue, homeowners have water softeners installed at their homes. For them, it’s convenient to use the softened water for swamp coolers. They can simply connect their swamp coolers to the same supply to which many of their other appliances and plumbing fixtures are connected. They don’t have to worry about connecting a hard water supply line to their swamp coolers.
But because of the salty nature of soft water, homeowners hesitate in using it for operating their swamp coolers. Salt deposits can cause rust, we know that well.
However, these concerns are not legitimate. Not at least to the extent they are voiced in some domains.
There’s no denying the fact that softened water contains sodium, but the concentration of sodium in softened water is extremely low. You can tell that yourself if you have ever tried drinking softened water. Does it taste salty?
Since the concentration of sodium in softened water is low, it cannot cause any significant rusting in your swamp cooler. Still, as due diligence, you can try connecting a bleeder pipe to your swamp cooler. A bleeder pipe would run off the excess water from the unitand would keep salt from building up in your system.
Besides that, the mineral deposits left behind from hard water can cause more damage to your swamp cooler than the sodium deposits. So even if we ignore everything, soft water is still a much safer choice for your swamp cooler than hard water.
Apart from being less damage-inducing, soft water also has many other benefits to offer to your swamp cooler:
- Soft water is better for your cooler’s pump
- It reduces scale build up on the pads of your cooler
- Soft water reduces the unit’s maintenance needs
- It reduces problems of biofilm and algae
In conclusion, softened water is safe for use in swamp coolers, in fact, it’s a much better choice than hard water.
A BONUS read: How to Reduce the Odds of Salt Bridging in Your Water Softener’s Brine Tank
