Alternating Soft/Non-Soft Water

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BKahuna

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Looking into installing a water softener into my well water system for my house. However the property plumbing is on 1 line (ie no separation of outdoor/yard and indoor/house). So to avoid using soft water for outdoor/yard usage, which is a NO-NO; I'm thinking of putting a bypass to the water softener and manually activate it for outdoor/yard usage. However, at the same time there will be non-soft water being used for indoor/house. My question is there any issue with alternating soft/non-soft water for indoor/house usage and plumbing? Also, is there another option? Apologies if not using proper terminology, but quite new to this whole plumbing thing :)
 

GEWaterSoftenerDude

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Can you not branch off and have the outside lines T-in to the main line before softening? Then you can soften after the T and go on to the rest of the house. I am on well water and thats how I have mine set up. Its really not that hard to do and it may be better than putting in a bypass and forgetting about switching it.
 

ditttohead

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Most sprinkler timers have a bypass relay built into them. If you have a sprinkler time it is fairly simple to run an automatic bypass for the softener while the sprinklers are going. Do you have a water report. In general soft water is not bad for irrigation, but it is certainly recommended that the softener be bypassed if possible.
 

BKahuna

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Can you not branch off and have the outside lines T-in to the main line before softening? Then you can soften after the T and go on to the rest of the house. I am on well water and thats how I have mine set up. Its really not that hard to do and it may be better than putting in a bypass and forgetting about switching it.

From what I can see and determine, line from pump/pressure-tank/sediment-filter feeds into only 1 line for the whole property plumbing (indoor/outdoor). To set outdoor branch line, it seems would involve running a bunch of exposed piping since all outdoor outlets are spread out.

Regarding the alternating, do you see any issues with that?
 

Reach4

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To set outdoor branch line, it seems would involve running a bunch of exposed piping since all outdoor outlets are spread out.
How about underground runs?

If it's spigots you want, consider yard hydrants.
 

BKahuna

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Most sprinkler timers have a bypass relay built into them. If you have a sprinkler time it is fairly simple to run an automatic bypass for the softener while the sprinklers are going. Do you have a water report. In general soft water is not bad for irrigation, but it is certainly recommended that the softener be bypassed if possible.

Unfortunately, don't have a sprinkler system. However, can the bypass process be implemented with a standalone bypass device, if such a device exist? :) No water report yet, but what should I be looking for in such a report to OK soft water usage for irrigation? Or if you know of any related info source/link, it would be appreciated.

Regarding the alternating, do you see any issues with that?
 

GEWaterSoftenerDude

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From what I can see and determine, line from pump/pressure-tank/sediment-filter feeds into only 1 line for the whole property plumbing (indoor/outdoor). To set outdoor branch line, it seems would involve running a bunch of exposed piping since all outdoor outlets

I don’t know about exposed. If it’s that much of a hassle then probably not a good idea.

I have a main that split off to 2 outside spigots. When I did soft water, we simply t-d off the main before the softener and sent them on their way. The pipes to the spigots are under the floor and access to them was in the basement where the main water comes in. So it took a couple of Ts, and maybe 20ft of extra copper 1/2”. For me it was simple to do.

Your house may be different. If you can’t catch an outdoor run in you basement and it requires a lot of exposed pipe, then it may not be worth it. But most houses I have seen have the piping runs come together in the basement and it’s usually somewhat easy to do. But every house is different.
 

Reach4

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Your house may be different. If you can’t catch an outdoor run in you basement and it requires a lot of exposed pipe, then it may not be worth it. But most houses I have seen have the piping runs come together in the basement and it’s usually somewhat easy to do. But every house is different.
Basements are rare in south Texas. Slabs are common.
 
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LLigetfa

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Water softeners can be purchased with optional bypass valves. Some existing softeners can be retrofitted with these same bypass valves or can be bypassed with three standard ball valves.
 
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