In applications where higher percentages of nitrates removal are required or where total house or livestock water treatment is required for a lower cost than whole house reverse osmosis, ion exchange is the best answer.

In the ion exchange process, water containing sulfates is passed through a modified RainDance Sulfate Eater water softener. This special softener contains a resin that is manufactured solely for the purpose of removing sulfates in the water. As they are removed they are replaced (exchanged) with chloride. The source of chloride is from the salt used to regenerate the unit which can be either traditional softener salt - sodium CHLORIDE or a special salt called potassium CHLORIDE. Rather than waste either the sodium or the potassium we place the special sulfate resin on top of regular softening resin and along with removing the sulfate we also soften the water with the same amount of salt being used. We get a free bonus of softening.

Of particular importance is the proper selection of the sulfate removal resin. It is specially formulated to cling tightly to the sulfate a until regeneration is required and not let them release into the water in excess amounts --- a process called "dumping". As long as the equipment is functioning, safety is virtually guaranteed. A meter control on the Sulfate Eater is very important to insure that regeneration is done even when unexpected excess water use occurs.