Anti-scale systems and water softeners use different mechanisms to prevent and reduce scale build-up. Anti-scale systems prevent scale from building up and sticking to the surfaces that hard water comes into contact with.

Anti-scale systems use a magnetic field to charge mineral particles in the water. The process methodically converts hard minerals from ion form into a smaller, crystalline form. This causes the small mineral particles to stay in the water, instead of being deposited within the plumbing and on surfaces.  Often, anti-scale systems still yield mineral build-up in faucets, fixtures and appliances despite the anti-scale process, minerals still remain and are dispersed at water outlets.