Water softening means expanding the lifespan of household machines, and the lifespan of pipelines. It also contributes to the improved working and longer lifespan of solar heating systems, air conditioning units and many other water-based applications. Water is softened or conditioned by replacing hard ions like calcium and magnesium with softer sodium or potassium ions. Time-initiated or solid state softeners regenerate at a fixed time when their softening capacity is predicted to be low. Demand-initiated softeners regenerate automatically when they sense their capacity is low.