Frequently asked question for FUTURA, our premium salt free water conditioner.

Hard water is water that contains a substantial quantity of dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium. It is generally not harmful to one's health but can pose several problems in your home due to the mineral buildup on fixtures. Hard water is to blame for hard water spots on dishes, scale deposits in all water-using appliances and reduced efficiency in your hot water heater. The more scale that is built up in your heater the more energy is used to heat up the water. The Futura is designed to prevent these hard water spots and reduce existing scale buildup, to help prolong the lifespan of your pipes and home appliances. Lastly, it can also help to save you money on lower energy costs.

The Futura will prolong the lifespan of pipes and appliances by preventing and reducing existing scale build up throughout your entire home. Reduced scale buildup will improve the efficiency of your water appliances to help you save money on lower energy costs. Enjoy reduced water spots on glasses, bathtubs, mirrors or any plumbing fixtures to make cleaning much easier.

The FUTURA media is a catalyst with molecular patterns on the resin-plated ceramic surface. Once water contact occurs with the ceramic surface of the media, dissolved calcium & magnesium (major causes for water hardness) is transformed into a crystalline form. These crystals are harmless, neutral, water-insoluble, heat resistant, completely stable, and cannot attach to any surfaces. When the calcite crystals reach a size in the range of nanometers, they lose their grip and detach on the resin-plated template, and are carried away by the water flow.

1. Sodium content will not increase: The traditional water softener operates on the basis of ion exchange. Ion Exchange resin removes calcium and magnesium ions from water, and replaces them with sodium ions. Traditional based softeners add salt in the water which is not recommended for those with high blood pressure or heart disease. Salt-based systems can also pose environmental stress by the sodium discharge in the wastewater.
2. No salt and no regeneration: Traditional Salt Softeners require water for backwashing and must be regenerated using salt or potassium chloride. A drain must be installed to discharge the salty water and minerals.
   Since the FUTURA Water Conditioner is a pure catalytic process, the water hardness is transformed into firm lime crystals. When the calcite crystals reach a size in the range of nanometers, they detach from the resin-plated template and are carried away by the water flow. The media is not used up in the process; therefore, no regeneration or salt is needed.
3. No Control head required: FUTURA Water Softeners use a simple in-out valve for water to flow. This means no need for periodic maintenance.
4. No need to backwash: The FUTURA media is continually in motion in the counter-current, and no particles are held up in granulate so a backwashing process is not required. In addition, a central control valve is not needed.
5. No maintenance costs: Traditional salt softeners require the salt media to be refilled every month.
6. No slippery feeling that you have with traditional softeners: Because the water hardness is not removed or replaced with sodium ions, you will not have the same slippery feel you get from using traditional water softeners. The water hardness is crystallized.

Salt-Free Futura & Traditional Salt-Based Comparison Chart

Negative calcium and magnesium ions in the existing scales are attracted to the neutral calcium and magnesium crystal clusters. The neutral calcium and magnesium crystals will not attach to any kind of surface. This is because ions are formed into stable calcium and magnesium crystals and float in the water from the FUTURA Conditioner. Thus, existing scale is usually reduced or eliminated within 1 to 2 months.

Depending on the thickness of the existing scale, it may take several weeks to remove most of the scale buildup. But after this, the pipe system and the heat exchanger surfaces will be absolutely clean. During these weeks, customers may experience a salty taste or light odor in the water for a short period of time. This happens because the FUTURA Water Conditioner is cleaning the pipes that may have sodium and/or calcium build up in the pipes. This will last for a short time until the pipes are clean.

Information on the ingredients of the FUTURA media:

No other media can be combined with the FUTURA Salt-Free Anti-Scale product.

FUTURA media is certified by the Water Quality Association (WQA) to NSF/ANSI-61 for health effects and approved for daily household water usage.

In older pipe systems and areas where high water hardness is a problem, significant lime deposits have often formed in the interior of water pipes. These in turn often contain rust particles and other corrosive products. When these lime deposits are broken down using the FUTURA Water Conditioner, released rust can come out of water faucets and possibly plug aerators and showerheads for a while. This problem can best be solved by occasionally cleaning these parts or replacing the rusted pipes.

No, the FUTURA system is not a filter. It doesn't trap the hardness nor does it exchange anything for the hardness. The media is in constant UPWARD motion and flows from the bottom to the top as a liquid in the mineral tank, so the media cannot filter the water.

The media in the FUTURA system stays in a suspended state when the water is flowing. Any hard water agents like calcium carbonate and magnesium that enters the system is transformed into a crystallized form. These crystals will attach to the media for a short time until they grow to sub-micron size and break free from the media to flow easily away with the water without causing scale.

FUTURA systems are specially designed to reduce and prevent hard water scale buildup to prolong the life of pipes and appliances. It does not purify water for drinking in the home. Thus, this system is often paired with a Reverse Osmosis drinking water filter that will purify your softened water into the best quality drinking water.

No, the media does not demonstrate any filtration effects. When in service, the media is always suspended in the water and therefore microorganisms are repressed. This continuous backwashing cycle is the best action to keep the media clean; therefore, disinfecting the media granulate in most cases is not required.

The softener comes with a carbon pre-filter that is recommended to change annually. This pre-filter is effective in reducing chlorine, bad taste, odor and organic compounds. In order to help prolong the lifespan of your Futura and maximize the softeners efficiency we highly suggest replacing this pre-filter annually, to protect the media from being exposed to any chlorine.

The media is not hazardous and skin contact with the media is harmless. Hydrogen sulfide, concentrated nitric acid, and oil in the water can foul the media.

The media does not need to be cleaned prior to installation. However, we do recommend soaking the media with water for 15-20 minutes before installation.

Our Futura is a low maintenance system that requires the media to be replaced on average every 3- 5 years. The Futura uses advanced catalytic media that is non-sacrificial and not consumed in the conversion process. In effect, the media results in an exceptionably long and durable life.

The media bed is not suspended when there is no water flow. The media bed will rest. It is recommended to allow the media bed to rest every 8 hours. This is usually not a problem in residential applications because you have at least 8 hours when the water is not flowing.

This material of the media is considered stable under specified conditions of usage. The FUTURA media will tolerate feed water temperature in between 41-120º F.

Futura 10 – 10 gpm (1-3 bathrooms)
Futura 15 – 15 gpm (3-6 bathrooms)
Futura 20 – 20 gpm (6 bathrooms or more)

** The systems will work perfectly fine even if your peak water usage goes over the maximum gpm rate.

The media has a maximum range from 6 to 9 pH but is recommended to function with a pH range between 6.5 to 8.5. However, we have also found that it works at 5.5 pH. We recommend that you find out if your water is below 6 pH.