WATER SOFTENERS: Water softeners convert HARD WATER into SOFT WATER

SOFT WATER is water with very few free Calcium ions CA++ and the usual method of extracting the Calcium Ions is called ION EXCHANGE. An ion exchange water softener uses special resins which are called “ion-excange resins”. The surface of these resins when they are fresh, firstly trap the Calcium ions and then release Sodium ions so removing hardness from the water but making the water richer in sodium ions. This ion exchange continues until there are so many calcium ions on the resins surface that they must be removed. This is done by adding a concentrated salt NaCl solution or BRINE and the process is called REGENERATION. The regeneration takes place in a seperate tank and it is here that the collected Calcium ions are removed and replaced once again with new Sodium ions. At this point the Sodium ions now affix themslevs to the resin releasing the Calcium ions which go back into solution and are washed away into a drain.

The resin is often in the shape a column and is itself inside a TANK of water. There is also of course a connecting REGENERATION tank.

The timing of the regeneration is oftened goverened by and timer or clock which sits on the top of the water softener. This timer can be electric or in some softeners like Kinetico the power comes from the movement of the water itself.

Water softeners need to be plumbed in by a professional plumber. The mains cold water feed into the property must be diverted through the water softener BUT a dedicated untreated cold water pipe must go to the kitchen sink to feed a drinking tap since softened water, rich in Sodium ions must not be drunk.

Salt must also be regularly put into the softener. The process of regeneration is accompanied by an alteration of water flow by an internal valve system which redirects water rich in Calcium down the drain.

ALTERNATIVES: Well you can see that the SOFTENER is a fairly complicated bit of kit. It not only needs salt but actually wastes a lot of water so people in HARD WATER areas now often choose an alternative…the electronic descaler. The Little Plumber range is among the most popular of these because not only have they been around along time but they also give a totoally unconditional 12 month full money back guarantee if the customer is not entirely happy with the performance.

WATER SOFTENERS for you home and business

What is a water softener?

A water softener is a device that makes HARD WATER soft. Hard water is water that has a high concentration of Calcium Carbonate dissolved into it. This happens when rainwater seeps through limestone and chalk in the ground before being collected into reservoirs and then fed or pumped to your house. Rainwater is slightly acidic because it has mixed with Carbon Dioxide in the atmoshphere to form CARBONIC ACID. This can be formulated as CO2+H20=H2CO3. The amount of C02 which dissolves into the water is dependent on the temperature of the rainwater and the colder it is the more C02 dissolves into it. When water heats up, the C02 evaporates off reducing the acidity of the water. This also happens when the atmospheric pressure is reduced since this literally “sucks” the C02 out of the water.

This “acidic” rainwater dissolves the Calcium Carbonate CaC03 in the ground which is present in the form of Limestone or Chalk (also as Aragonite, Calcite,Vaterite,Marble and Travertine) which when dissolved become ionised in the water as Calcium Bicarbonate. CaCO3 + CO2 + H20 = Ca (HC03)2. These ions float in the dissolved water as Ca++ and HCO3 - ions and will remain in solution until the water is either heated or the atmospheric pressure is reduced.

When the water now rich in these ions is heated, the CO2 leaves the water and the ions recombine into their original form as LIMESCALE. The CO2 also leaves the water when the pressure is reduced and this happens when water suddenly changes direction as in the L-bend in a pipe or when it suddenly leaves from a tap or shower head when it drops from a high pressure to a low pressure. Boiling or heating water quickly causes LIMESCALE to be deposited as is evidenced in hot water cylinders, boilers and kettles. Sudden pressure drop precipitations of LIMESCALE can be seen in pipes at L-bend , shower heads and taps.

(For the purpose of simple explanation we have not mentioned Magnesium Salts which are present in the ground as Dolomite since it is the Calcium salts which are the main cause of HARD WATER)

So the ions of Calcium and others are called the “hardness ions” and not only cause LIMESCALE
but also react with soaps to prevent proper lathering and can cause a “scum”. This scum is called Calcium Stearate.

LIMESCALE IN KENT & WILTSHIRE

White Cliffs of Dover and White Horse of Uffington

If you dig into the ground in certain parts of the British Isles you’ll soon find that you hit a hard white rock. This rock is commonly called LIMESTONE and in it’s softer form it is known as CHALK.

Dover in Kent has its famous WHITE CLIFFS and in Wiltshire the famous WHITE HORSE can be seen in the valley aptly named after it.

Beautiful as they are, the White Cliffs of Dover and the Vale of the White Horse pose a problem for the people who live there because it means they also have hard water.

Hard water is water which has run through a chalky layer of earth. The chalk, basically Calcium Carbonate, dissolves into the water, which came down as rain and then ends up in your house and can cause havoc with your pluming and appliances, as people who live in hard water areas will tell you.

The problem is not so much with the cold water, which contains masses of calcium ions in solution, because this water is very good for you. Children need high calcium content in the water to build bones and teeth and it has been shown too that high levels of calcium prevent heart attacks. In fact the Calcium ion is an important factor in the metabolism of all cells and without it we would all die.

No, the problem comes when you heat the water or change the water pressure because this forces the calcium ions out of solution and they then recombine with the carbonate ions to become what they were originally, which is Limestone or Chalk only now it’s a nasty hard substance called LIMESCALE.

Limescale that can be seen is the least of your worries, it’s the Limescale in the boilers and heaters that cause the major problem because here the thick deposit actually acts as an insulator and prevents heat escaping from the elements and heating up the water. This means your heating bills go through the roof. If you add to this the hugely damaging effect the limescale has on all your appliances, the restriction of water flowing in pipes and the mess it makes you soon realise you must do something about it…BUT WHAT?

The answer maybe a water softener as this will remove all the hardness from the water before it gets into your house. Water softeners in the main use salt and require plumbing. They are in fact just another thing to look after and without a constant re-fill of salt they fail.

But alternative help is at hand in the form of the Little Plumber range of electronic water softeners, which require no chemicals or maintenance. Costing a fraction of the price of a water softener they can be installed by a competent DIY-er and are actually guaranteed to work. They come with a 12-month no-quibble money back guarantee. So what have the people living in Kent and Wiltshire got to lose? Nothing it would seem. And if you live in one of the other areas of hard water nor have you.