Is it allowed to drain water softener on the ground?

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Old 04-02-2023, 06:55 AM
djlnc djlnc is offline
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Default Is it allowed to drain water softener on the ground?

Thinking about getting a softener. There is no utility sink in the garage and no obvious place for the discharge. Is some sort of dry well permitted?
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Old 04-02-2023, 07:02 AM
retiredguy123 retiredguy123 is offline
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Most water softener installations drain the discharge directly onto the ground through a plastic pipe in the exterior wall. It is legal.
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Old 04-02-2023, 07:13 AM
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Does the discharge water have large amounts of salt ?
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Old 04-02-2023, 07:25 AM
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Most water softener installations drain the discharge directly onto the ground through a plastic pipe in the exterior wall. It is legal.
OK. That was fast. Thank you!
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Old 04-02-2023, 08:22 AM
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Does the discharge water have large amounts of salt ?
Enough to kill grass and plants over time. Use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride and that won't happen.
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Old 04-02-2023, 08:47 AM
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Originally Posted by retiredguy123 View Post
Most water softener installations drain the discharge directly onto the ground through a plastic pipe in the exterior wall. It is legal.
You stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, didn't u?

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Old 04-02-2023, 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by djlnc View Post
Thinking about getting a softener. There is no utility sink in the garage and no obvious place for the discharge. Is some sort of dry well permitted?
When we moved here (2013) I had the same question, and could NOT get a straight answer. I ended up hiring a plumber who at the time stated and tried to do a water drill several feet down. In our case this did not work, ended up with something similar to a buried French drain with a cover over it and then a pipe though the cover for the water softener. What I was told at the time was you could NOT pipe or otherwise drain to the road. IMHO, you can call the county building department and ask for the correct answer for your location.
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Old 04-02-2023, 12:12 PM
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There are other threads on this topic. Do a search. If draining on the ground is not allowed, there are a lot of Villagers violating the rule, and some of them live on my street.
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Old 04-03-2023, 05:52 AM
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"Per Florida Building Code, household wastewater of any type (including greywater) must be discharged to the sanitary system. This includes water from sinks, tubs, toilets, water softeners, dishwashers, washing machines and floor drains."
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Old 04-03-2023, 05:52 AM
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Does the discharge water have large amounts of salt ?
The opposite. The hard chemicals, calcium and manganese, are discharged. The salt, sodium or potassium chloride, goes into the softened water.
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Old 04-03-2023, 06:21 AM
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If you use salt it is discharged, you can see homes with bad areas of grass, that's due to salt.
Potassium does not have that issue, 90% of our customers use it over salt.

It also gives you better feel on your skin.

Be aware that certain cardiac issues can be affected by drinking water with potassium, if that's an issue you can switch to salt
Or better yet add a reverse osmosis for drinking.

Bob
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Old 04-03-2023, 07:42 AM
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Originally Posted by jimbo2012 View Post
If you use salt it is discharged, you can see homes with bad areas of grass, that's due to salt.
Potassium does not have that issue, 90% of our customers use it over salt.

It also gives you better feel on your skin.

Be aware that certain cardiac issues can be affected by drinking water with potassium, if that's an issue you can switch to salt
Or better yet add a reverse osmosis for drinking.

Bob
Nova Filters
Hey Bob

Is the Nova filter hooked up before or after the water softner?

Thanks
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Old 04-03-2023, 08:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbo2012 View Post
If you use salt it is discharged, you can see homes with bad areas of grass, that's due to salt.
Potassium does not have that issue, 90% of our customers use it over salt.

It also gives you better feel on your skin.

Be aware that certain cardiac issues can be affected by drinking water with potassium, if that's an issue you can switch to salt
Or better yet add a reverse osmosis for drinking.

Bob
Nova Filters
The OP's question was about the legality of discharging the drain onto the ground. When Nova installs a water softener, do you discharge the drain onto the ground and it that a legal installation?
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Old 04-03-2023, 08:20 AM
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Salt water pools with the auto level feature discharge excess pool water into the ground after heavy rains. The optimal level of salt in a pool is roughly 3200 ppm.
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Old 04-03-2023, 08:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRcorvette View Post
Hey Bob

Is the Nova filter hooked up before or after the water softner?

Thanks
We've done it both ways, need more info please call 352.566.2649
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