If you start noticing that some, or even all of your sinks are stain-riddles, your skin is relatively dry and somewhat itchy, then this definitely suggests that you might have an issue with hard water. If this is so, what you require is a water softening system.
First things first; what is this hard water?
Hard water is basically raw water that is highly concentrated with heavy minerals including magnesium and calcium. Due to their chemical structure, magnesium and calcium both have a tendency of easily reacting and bonding with other metal types.
Over a good period of time, this bond actually builds up to something visible and irritating. Examples of such include some crusty residue in your sinks or even shower heads.
What signs indicate that you might actually have a problem with hard water?
As a matter of fact, hard water acquired its name from the hard mineral-deposits it leaves behind. As mentioned earlier on, these deposits accumulate over time causing significant damage. You will realize that you have a hard water problem if you start noticing the following signs:
- A buildup of scales on your kitchen appliances
- Itchy and dried up skin
- Dry un-humidified air around your home
- Gray and faded clothes
- Clogged pipes constantly and consistently in need of repair
- Brittle glassware that can get damaged easily
- Skyrocketing water bills
- Bathtub and sink stains among several other indicators.
Whenever you start noticing that you have some, if not all the problems mentioned above, you need to instantly realize and establish that it has something to do with hard water.
How do you solve hard water?
Solving hard water is actually pretty easy. All you require is a water softener system fitted or rather installed in your home plumbing system.
What is a water softener?
A water softener can be simply described as a filtration system meant to remove the high concentrations of magnesium and calcium responsible for the hardness of water. When hard water is passed through a softener, the system eliminates the said hard minerals letting out soft water through your home’s plumbing system. There several different types of water softeners depending on cost and manufacturer. Details on some of the best can be found on https://waterfilterbase.com/best-water-softener-reviews/.
How does a water softener work?
A water softener can also be referred to as an ion exchange unit. Since these devices have been available for quite a long time now, the technology used in the same is well developed and should work perfectly to soften your hard water.
Now, the latter works through two processes
I. Ion exchange
In the ion exchange section, a chemical and physical process does the mineral filtration through the application of zeolite or resin. These are simply, exchange media used to facilitate the actual exchange of ions.
Basically, this resin is a natural sand-like compound coated with sodium ions that are positively charged. Once the hard water is passed through, an ion exchange environment is created since magnesium and calcium dissolve into the positively charged sodium ions. This allows the resin to readily trade its sodium ions for magnesium and calcium ions. As a result, the water let out is soft since it has no, or very limited calcium and magnesium ions.
II. Regeneration
Clearly, the resin will reach a point of ineffectiveness in softening water. This, of course, will be once all the sodium exchange sites have been replaced with the hardness minerals. When this happens, the water softener is now run on an alternative cycle referred to as regeneration.
In this cycle, the resin is simply back-washed using a salt solution. In reverse flushing, the brine through the system, all the magnesium and calcium ions that had been absorbed by the resin are swept away. This can be termed as a maintenance procedure to revert the softener back into a functioning mode. After this procedure, the water softener can then be returned to its normal use.
Also, note that depending on the design, some water softeners automatically switch between the operation cycles depending on their condition. Others require manual switching from one cycle of operation to another.
Summary
Finally, there are several different types of water softeners available in the market. Therefore, you need to go for one that suits you best. Keep in mind that all these softeners essentially use the same water softening process. This is why most of them are not actually rated in terms of effectiveness. They are only rated for other features such as size, maintenance requirements, cost, and safety etc. However, all these features are a matter of an individual’s personal taste and preferences.
