Benefits : - Rejuvenates Bathing experience with more lather.
- Prevents excessive hair loss and makes them soft & healthy.
- Makes skin feel soft & glow after bath.
- Eliminates spots on cutlery & utensils and maintain their shine
- Eliminates scaling in geysers & pipes, thus reducing electricity bills.
- Eliminates white scale deposits in bathroom fittings, tubs, showers and sinks.
- Keeps kitchen & bathroom cleaner.
To explain why water softeners are beneficial and how they work, one needs to understand the difference between hard and soft water.
What is hard water? When water is referred to as 'hard', this simply means that it contains more minerals than ordinary water. These minerals are especially calcium and magnesium. The degree of hardness of the water increases when more amounts of calcium and magnesium are dissolved in it.
Hard water can cause scale build-up in water heaters, pipes, taps and showerheads, thereby reducing its flow. Also, soap and shampoo's ability to lather is reduced and laundry becomes stiffer and duller in appearance.
What is water softening? Water softening is a technique that serves the removal of the ions that cause the water to be hard, in most cases calcium and magnesium ions.
How to decide if water softener needs to be installed? Water hardness is measured with five different classifications and can be expressed in mg/liters or parts per million (ppm).
Soft Below 17 mg/liters or ppm Slightly Hard 17 - 60 mg/liters or ppm Moderately Hard 60 - 120 mg/liters or ppm Hard 120 - 180 mg/liters or ppm Very Hard Over 180 mg/liters or ppm
If the hardness is above 120 mg/liters or ppm, one may consider installing a water softener. Above 180 mg/liters or ppm, one may definitely install one. Generally speaking, ground water is hard and should be softened before use.
What does a water softener do? Water softeners are specific ion exchangers that are designed to remove ions, which are positively charged, mainly calcium and magnesium ions since calcium and magnesium are referred to as hardness minerals.
A water softener uses resin that replaces the calcium and magnesium ions in the water with other ions, for instance sodium. The exchanger ions are added to the exchanger reservoir as sodium salts (NaCl).
What are the main operating costs? The purchase of salt for regeneration will be the main operating cost. Salt is sold in large bags and can be obtained from any local dealer. The other cost will be the water and energy required for operation and regeneration.
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