Are you frustrated by hard water stains?
Do you get irritated when your faucet screens and shower heads plug up with scale?
Do get angry when you have to replace your appliances frequently because of hard water scaling?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you need to know you are not alone. Many people are struggling with the same issue as you and want to know: How to remove hardness from water.
Water hardness is caused by high concentrations of calcium and magnesium and to a lesser extent iron and manganese. In simple terms, water hardness is measured as the soap consuming capacity of the water. Softer water will consume less soap to do the same job of cleaning. Hard water will require more soap and even then will not create as rich a lather as you will find with soft water.
The ability to consume soap is not the only aspect of water hardness to be considered. Scale forming on your faucets and shower heads can be a source of frustration and inconvenience. In the case of shower heads clogging, if the water pressure is high enough it can create a painful experience when the water comes out of a tiny hole at high pressure. You have to clean these devices on a regular basis, sometimes monthly, in order to be able to use them.
Washing machines, dishwashers, icemakers in refrigerators, irons and steamers all have a shorter life when the water hardness is too high. With care and frequent maintenance you can prolong their use, they will still need to be replaced prematurely.
Finally, the hard water stains and buildup in bathtubs, sinks and toilets can be unsightly and even embarrassing. Using mild acids like vinegar can clean up most of these stains. Sometimes a much stronger acid is needed. The fumes from those cleaning products can range from unpleasant to dangerous.
There are two kinds of water softeners on the market.
The most common is a salt-based water softener. This type of softener actually removes the minerals that cause hardness and replaces them with sodium. They give the water a slick feeling and you will notice your soap producing more lather. Since the minerals have been removed your skin won’t feel dry and your laundry will be brighter. You will also notice you don’t have scale and soap scum buildup.
Because a salt-based softener uses salt to soften the water, you will need to regenerate the softener periodically. This is an automatic process, but you will be required to add salt to your softener as needed.
Two things to consider when getting a salt-based system. First, just know there will be an ongoing expense for salt as long as you are using it. Second, you will be adding sodium to your water. If the hardness of your water is 15 grains per gallon you would consume about 30 mg of sodium per 8 ounce glass of water.
There are also salt-free water “softeners”
These units do not remove hardness-causing minerals, they convert them to crystals, but the minerals remain in the water. These crystals won’t attach to surfaces to form a scale. Note: Since they don’t actually remove the minerals they are really water conditioners. You still get the advantage of reduced scale without adding any salt. In fact, salt-free water conditioners are virtually maintenance free and while some can go for 3 to 5 years without replacing the media others never need to have it replaced.
One other important point to make about water softeners is they only deal with the hardness in the water. They do not remove any contaminants of any kind. If you are wanting to remove hardness and chlorine, fluoride etc. you will need some sort of combination if treatment devices.
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