It can be a great idea to invest in a water treatment solution for your home as it can provide better drinking water for your family and softer working water for your home.
People often ask me what actually are some of the benefits of softening your water supply. Well see below for a run down of the main reasons why it can be a good idea.
• Cleaner kitchen and bathrooms with much less cleaning work
• Clear glasses and dishes
• Cleaner, softer laundry
• Smoother, more luxurious skin and hair
• Appliances work more efficiently and last longer
• Use less detergent, saving you money and helping the environment
• Never-ending supply of cleaner, safer drinking water
• More flavorful coffee and drinks
• Healthier alternative to sodas and sugary drinks
• Less expensive and less hassle than buying bottles of water
• Helps the environment by keeping bottles out of our landfills
If you have any others, please feel free to make a comment below and let everyone know why you prefer soft water to hard water. I look forward to your thoughts!
Showing posts with label softening water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label softening water. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Water Softening Benefits to be Studied...
The effect of hard water around the home can increase heating bills by hundreds of dollars a year. Simply adding a water softener is a great way to combat these effects and reduce the build-up of limescale and hard water stains.
The effects of softening water are now being studied at WQA Aquatech USA. The conference and exhibition will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, March 9 - 12, 2010.
One of the best water filters around at the moment is the Pelican PC600 Premium whole House Water Softener. Click on the image below for more information...
The results of the conference will be very revealing and I'm sure will confirm that hard water continues to be an ever increasing evvironmental issue due to the extra energy is costs to heat homes and businesses.
The full article about the conference can be found at http://www.watertechonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=73367
If you have any comments about this post feel free to add them below - I be happy to hear your thoughts.
Sunday, 30 November 2008
How The Softening Process Works...
It is often desirable to soften hard water, as it does not readily form lather with soap. Soap is wasted when trying to form lather, and in the process, scum forms. Hard water may be treated to reduce the effects of scaling and to make it more suitable for laundry and bathing.
The Process
A water softener works on the principle of cation or ion exchange in which ions of the hardness minerals are exchanged for sodium or potassium ions, effectively reducing the concentration of hardness minerals to tolerable levels.
The most economical way to soften household water is with an ion exchange water softener. This unit uses sodium chloride (table salt) to recharge beads made of ion exchange resin that exchange hardness mineral ions for sodium ions. Artificial or natural zeolites can also be used.
As the hard water passes through and around the beads, the hardness mineral ions are preferentially absorbed, displacing the sodium ions. This process is called ion exchange. When the bead or sodium zeolite has a low concentration of sodium ions left, it is exhausted, and can no longer soften water.
The resin is recharged by flushing (often back-flushing) with saltwater. The high excess concentration of sodium ions alter the equilibrium between the ions in solution and the ions held on the surface of the resin, resulting in replacement of the hardness mineral ions on the resin or zeolite with sodium ions. The resulting saltwater and mineral ion solution is then rinsed away, and the resin is ready to start the process all over again. This cycle can be repeated many times.
Some softening processes in industry use the same method, but on a much larger scale. These methods create an enormous amount of salty water that is costly to treat and dispose of (see image on the left).
Temporary hardness, caused by hydrogen carbonate (or bicarbonate) ions, can be removed by boiling. For example, calcium hydrogen carbonate, often present in temporary hard water, is boiled in a kettle to remove the hardness. In the process, a scale forms on the inside of the kettle in a process known as "furring of kettles", and can also cause hard water stains. This scale is composed of calcium carbonate.
Ca(HCO3)2 → CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O
Hardness can also be reduced with a lime-soda ash treatment. This process, developed by Thomas Clark in 1841, involves the addition of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide — Ca(OH)2) to a hard water supply to convert the hydrogen carbonate hardness to carbonate, which precipitates and can be removed by filtration:
Ca(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 → 2CaCO3 + 2H2O
The addition of sodium carbonate also softens permanently hard water containing calcium sulfate, as the calcium ions form calcium carbonate which precipitates out and sodium sulfate is formed which is soluble. The calcium carbonate (also known as limescale) formed sinks to the bottom. Sodium sulfate has no effect on the hardness of water.
Na2CO3 + CaSO4 → Na2SO4 + CaCO3
The Process
A water softener works on the principle of cation or ion exchange in which ions of the hardness minerals are exchanged for sodium or potassium ions, effectively reducing the concentration of hardness minerals to tolerable levels.
The most economical way to soften household water is with an ion exchange water softener. This unit uses sodium chloride (table salt) to recharge beads made of ion exchange resin that exchange hardness mineral ions for sodium ions. Artificial or natural zeolites can also be used.
As the hard water passes through and around the beads, the hardness mineral ions are preferentially absorbed, displacing the sodium ions. This process is called ion exchange. When the bead or sodium zeolite has a low concentration of sodium ions left, it is exhausted, and can no longer soften water.
The resin is recharged by flushing (often back-flushing) with saltwater. The high excess concentration of sodium ions alter the equilibrium between the ions in solution and the ions held on the surface of the resin, resulting in replacement of the hardness mineral ions on the resin or zeolite with sodium ions. The resulting saltwater and mineral ion solution is then rinsed away, and the resin is ready to start the process all over again. This cycle can be repeated many times.
Some softening processes in industry use the same method, but on a much larger scale. These methods create an enormous amount of salty water that is costly to treat and dispose of (see image on the left).
Temporary hardness, caused by hydrogen carbonate (or bicarbonate) ions, can be removed by boiling. For example, calcium hydrogen carbonate, often present in temporary hard water, is boiled in a kettle to remove the hardness. In the process, a scale forms on the inside of the kettle in a process known as "furring of kettles", and can also cause hard water stains. This scale is composed of calcium carbonate.
Ca(HCO3)2 → CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O
Hardness can also be reduced with a lime-soda ash treatment. This process, developed by Thomas Clark in 1841, involves the addition of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide — Ca(OH)2) to a hard water supply to convert the hydrogen carbonate hardness to carbonate, which precipitates and can be removed by filtration:
Ca(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 → 2CaCO3 + 2H2O
The addition of sodium carbonate also softens permanently hard water containing calcium sulfate, as the calcium ions form calcium carbonate which precipitates out and sodium sulfate is formed which is soluble. The calcium carbonate (also known as limescale) formed sinks to the bottom. Sodium sulfate has no effect on the hardness of water.
Na2CO3 + CaSO4 → Na2SO4 + CaCO3
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