Softened water

kcdrake
kcdrake Posts: 512
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm visiting my sister up in NY and the cabin we're staying at uses softened water. In case you don't know, softened water is treated with salt. So, I'm drinking my H2O like a good girl (which totally tastes funny. lol) but I can't help but wonder how much extra sodium I'm getting every day. I feel like I can notice it because I feel like I'm retaining water (though, it could also be because I'm not eating nearly as well as I do when I'm home). I drink a TON of water and cannot afford to buy bottled water, and I'll be leaving soon so it's not a HUGE deal. I'm not freaking out because I know it's not permanent and I'll flush it all out when I do get home. I'm just curious if anyone knows if there really is a considerable amount of sodium in softened water.

Replies

  • Becka77
    Becka77 Posts: 284 Member
    I'd like to know this too as I have a water softener on my house so any water I drink at home is softened. Although I do have a filter on my kitchen sink and refrigerator so I wonder if that helps remove any extra salt.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
    Hmm... For the past few days I've been drinking bottled Dasani water. Our tap water is horrid; it literally burns my throat. Dasani has added sodium to it, too. I'm hoping it's not too much. I'd like to hear what everybody else says. Sucks when you try to drink water to counteract sodium, and your water has sodium in it!!
  • Amber030583
    Amber030583 Posts: 490 Member
    Soft water is only warm or hot water. It does not effect cold water.
  • fxdl2k2
    fxdl2k2 Posts: 250 Member
    The Mayo Clinic has an article on this.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/AN00317
  • stringsNlinks
    stringsNlinks Posts: 293 Member
    Soft water is only warm or hot water. It does not effect cold water.

    Is this true? Because all the water in my house is also through the water softener. Our toilets run with cold water and if I don't use the softner they turn orange....just wondering
  • fxdl2k2
    fxdl2k2 Posts: 250 Member
    Soft water is only warm or hot water. It does not effect cold water.

    Is this true? Because all the water in my house is also through the water softener. Our toilets run with cold water and if I don't use the softner they turn orange....just wondering

    It depends on the system. Some systems are set on the water heater, but the majority are at the incoming source for the house.
  • stringsNlinks
    stringsNlinks Posts: 293 Member
    The Mayo Clinic has an article on this.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/AN00317

    thanks...I have wondered about this for awhile and that brief article was helpful, I buy big bottles of water but I think I won't for awhile and test the WATERS. ..LOL excuse the pun! I am pretty careful about sodium myself
  • kcdrake
    kcdrake Posts: 512
    The Mayo Clinic has an article on this.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/AN00317

    Good to know that I'm not getting a significant amount from the H2O. Thanks :happy:
  • kcdrake
    kcdrake Posts: 512
    Hmm... For the past few days I've been drinking bottled Dasani water. Our tap water is horrid; it literally burns my throat. Dasani has added sodium to it, too. I'm hoping it's not too much. I'd like to hear what everybody else says. Sucks when you try to drink water to counteract sodium, and your water has sodium in it!!

    Oh, I know! I've only been drinking this water for 4 days and I feel like its irritating my throat. I wish they had some sort of filter on the tap or filtered pitcher or something. I've found the only thing that helps is to make sure the water is really cold. I have a pitcher of water in the fridge and to load my cup with ice.

    6 more days till I can go back to my normal water. :grumble:
  • weaklink109
    weaklink109 Posts: 2,831 Member
    The house my parents used to own had a water softening system, which softened ALL water, not just the water in the hot water tank. For years we used the softened water to drink and cook because we didn't know any better. I found out the hard way that the water is NOT a good thing to drink. The first dog I had, the little grey Shih tzu that you see in my ticker, spent a few days at "Grandma's" house during the summer. When I brought him home, he appeared to be sick, so I took him to my vet. We talked about what he had been eating and drinking, and I mentioned his visit to my mom's while I was out of town.

    My vet was a sharp cookie. As a result of his questions, the subject of softened water came up, and he said NEVER let my dog drink the softened water because of the sodium content. He also said, it wasn't a good idea for people either. My dad was able to bypass the softened water and run an additional water line up to the kitchen so that they could get untreated water for drinking and cooking.
  • fxdl2k2
    fxdl2k2 Posts: 250 Member
    Hmm... For the past few days I've been drinking bottled Dasani water. Our tap water is horrid; it literally burns my throat. Dasani has added sodium to it, too. I'm hoping it's not too much. I'd like to hear what everybody else says. Sucks when you try to drink water to counteract sodium, and your water has sodium in it!!

    Switch to plain Dasani water. Only the flavored Dasani waters have sodium and it is only 29 mg per serving (73 mg per bottle). If you don't like plain water, try adding your own flavorings such as lemon, lime, orange, cucumber slices, or fresh mint.
  • marlafinley
    marlafinley Posts: 3
    I have a friend named Glen who works at Culligan water in Dallas. He's really knowledgeable, so I asked him about this.

    He said, "What I recommend is when you install a water softener you also install a reverse osmosis unit for all your drinking and cooking water uses. By design water softeners add sodium to the household water supply. The small amount of sodium which is added to the water is not a health concern unless you are on a low sodium (or sodium restricted) diet. It's only about 2% of your recommended sodium per day. Some people do notice the taste difference of the water from a water softener."
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