How does automatic water softner tank work?

Question

how does automatic water softner tank work?

Answer 1

The water supply to the house runs through the water softener's bed of small plastic beads called zeolites. The beads are covered with sodium ions. As the water flows past the sodium ions, they swap places with  calcium and magnesium ions making the water all nice and soft. Eventually, the beads  contain nothing but calcium and magnesium and no sodium, and at this point they stop softening the water. It is then time to regenerate the beads.

Salt is added to the water softener periodically by the homeowner. The machine converts the salt into a big old batch of brine and that brine washes down the plastic beads removing the calcium and magnesium ions and flushing them down the drain. Then the water softener goes back to doing it's job keeping the pipes and appliances clean, running smoothly, and lasting a lot longer.