Halo Water Filtration Systems in Lexington, NC

What is the difference between a HALO 5 and a water softener?

The differences are profound. It is not an apple to apple comparison. While many softeners are comparably or priced higher than the HALO 5, traditional water softeners are a more expensive less effective way to address hard water, scale, and corrosion and actually add more contaminants into household water supplies and the environment. 

Most water hardness treatment systems use ion exchange with salt as a regenerate which leaves salt in the drinking water and requires a reverse osmosis system to remove the salt to make the water salt free for drinking and cooking. With a softener, reverse osmosis is required at every point of access at which you would want to drink or cook with the water. The HALO 5 Whole House Water Filtration and Conditioning System, gives you conditioned, highly filtered, alkaline water at every access point in the home. 

The backwash for a traditional salt softener is required much more frequently than the HALO 5 pre-programmed, automated regeneration. Usually every day to every 3 days, a backwash is required with a softener. The HALO 5 backwashes once every 7 days and can be extended further under favorable circumstances. The water expelled during a traditional salt softener’s backwash is contaminated by salt and is considered harmful to the environment. Many homeowners associations have banned the use of such systems. The HALO 5 Whole House Water Filtration and Conditioning System has a backwash that is up to 30% less water than other systems and flushes clean highly filtered water during the regeneration cycle. 

The water from a HALO can be collected in a rain barrel and used for irrigation or can be directed to a tree well or flowerbed. The water is safe for pets, wildlife and plants as it is highly filtered and 100% free of chlorine and chloramines. 

The final difference between a HALO 5 and a traditional salt softener is this, and this is a big one…softeners do not filter contaminants from your water. Softeners are specifically designed to address hard water via ion exchange. The resin bed within a softener, where the exchange happens, will become damaged by chlorine and chloramines found in all municipal water supplies, and additional systems are needed to protect the softener from chlorine as well as sediment. That additional expense along with the ongoing cost of 50 lb bags of salt makes softening a more expensive, less environmentally friendly hard water solution. 

While ion exchange systems substitute salt for calcium and magnesium, the HALO ION Inline Water Conditioner transforms dissolved calcium and magnesium into crystallized calcium formations. Calcium and magnesium in their crystallized state are rendered harmless and free from their hard properties and scaling effects.