Salt-free water conditioners

What a salt-free conditioner does

There is no salt, no brine and no discharge to the drain. A conditioner does not remove hardness. The minerals stay in the water, and the media changes how they form scale, so less sticks to pipes, heaters and fixtures.

The best independent evidence is a lab study of salt-free alternatives, cosponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California State Water Resources Control Board. It compared three types. One type, template-assisted crystallization, cut scale formation by about 90 percent, close to the salt softener in the same study. The other two types cut it by roughly half. None of the three removed hardness. Which type is inside a product matters, so ask what the media is.

What it does not do

• It does not stop spots. The study did not test residue left on fixtures when water evaporates. Because the hardness minerals stay in the water, expect spotting on glass and film on shower doors to continue. See hard water spots on glass and fixtures.
• It is not a softener. Softening means removing hardness, and a conditioner does not.
• It does not filter. A scale stage does not take out chlorine or chloramine. That takes carbon. See chloramine in tap water.
• It is not a drinking-water system. For the water you drink and cook with, see reverse osmosis drinking water.
• It does not last forever. Media wears out and needs replacing on a schedule.

Think of it as scale protection for pipes, heaters and fixtures.

Why it is the option in cities that restrict salt units

Some cities and sewer agencies restrict self-regenerating softeners, because the salt brine goes down the drain. The rules differ by street, because the agency that treats your sewage is not always the one that sells you water.

• Corona requires a city permit for an on-site-regenerating unit.
• Redlands and the Inland Empire Utilities Agency cities (Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland) bar new on-site-regenerating units.
• The Irvine Ranch Water District area, which includes parts of Irvine, Lake Forest, Tustin and Orange, restricts or discourages them.

A salt-free conditioner has no brine, so it does not raise that issue. Nuvia does not recommend a salt-based unit at an address where the city or sewer agency bars one. Rules change, so confirm yours with your city before you buy anything. The full picture is on water softeners and conditioners and the California softener rules page, and each city page (Corona, Riverside, San Bernardino, Anaheim, Yorba Linda) shows what applies there.

If you want softened water in one of these areas, the other route is an exchange-tank service, which regenerates the resin at a separate facility. The Irvine Ranch Water District recommends it by name.

Which Nuvia systems list scale protection

These descriptions come from Nuvia's live product pages. None of them uses salt.

• Nuvia Scale Shield. Two stages: sediment filtration and a scale-control stage, listed at up to 40 gallons per minute with a 5 micron sediment stage. Its page says the media changes calcium and magnesium into microscopic particles so that scale does not form, and that it helps control iron up to 10 parts per million.
• Nuvia Sentry. A wall-mounted unit with a sediment stage, a scale-reduction stage and a coconut shell carbon block for chlorine, taste and odor, listed at up to 40 gallons per minute.
• Nuvia Advantage. Five stages, with a carbon stage, a scale stage and a programmed backwash cycle.
• Nuvia Thermo Guard. Scale protection built for tankless water heaters, gas or electric, with a sediment stage and a scale stage in one cartridge. See tankless water heater scale protection.
• Nuvia Carbon CRS. Salt-free too, but its page lists sediment, carbon and clarification stages and no scale stage. It is a chlorine system, not a conditioner.

Where a salt-based unit is allowed and you want the hardness gone, see the softening options on water softeners and conditioners.

When a conditioner fits, and when it does not

It fits when the goal is protecting pipes, a water heater and appliances from scale, you want no salt and no brine, and your address restricts salt units or you do not want one. It does not fit when the goal is spot-free glass and clear shower doors. That takes removing the hardness.

Start with the free water analysis

Your hardness number tells you how much scale you are dealing with. The free water analysis is done at your tap. It looks at hardness, chlorine and total dissolved solids, and it is not a health screening. You see your numbers first, then you hear which options your address allows.