Water Softening

Don’t be a victim of hard water. We call water "hard" if it contains a lot of calcium or magnesium dissolved in it. Hard water causes two problems:

1. It can cause "scale" to form on the inside of pipes, water heaters, tea kettles and so on. The calcium and magnesium precipitate out of the water and stick to things. The scale doesn't conduct heat well and it also reduces the flow through pipes. Eventually, pipes can become completely clogged.

2. It reacts with soap to form a sticky scum, and also reduces the soap's ability to lather. Since most of us like to wash with soap, hard water makes a bath or shower less productive. The idea behind a water softener is simple. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium ions. Since sodium does not precipitate out in pipes or react badly with soap, both of the problems of hard water are eliminated. To do the ion replacement, the water in the house runs through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical matrix called zeolite. The beads or zeolite are covered with sodium ions. As the water flows past the sodium ions, they swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions. Eventually, the beads or zeolite contain nothing but calcium and magnesium and no sodium, and at this point they stop softening the water. It is then time to regenerate the beads or zeolite.

Benefits - reduces soapy residue on clothes and skin

• Helps make hair shinier, skin cleaner, and clothes cleaner and brighter
• Makes household cleaning easier and less expensive
• Reduces soap scum and scaling, decreasing use of costly detergent
• Improves water flow, reduces scale deposits in your pipes
• Reduces water heating bills
• Reduces hard water scaling of appliances and plumbing