Things to know before buying a water softener
Before buying a water softener, the following are some main items you should know and will be covered for you in this article. You can email our team if you have any more questions or book a private, no-obligation demo where a trained technician can visit your home and speak to you about how the softener will work for you.
What is a softener for water?
What is water that’s hard?
How does a softener for water work?
The advantages of a water softener
Forms of softeners for water
Installing water softener
How much does it pay for a HarveyTM Water Softener?
What is a water softener?
A water softener is a gadget that, like underneath a kitchen sink, attaches to the plumbing system at an easy access point. To turn it into soft water, it extracts the calcium and magnesium minerals present in hard water. The use of a water softener helps you to prevent many of the issues created by the use of rough water.
Using a method called ion exchange, water softeners operate in which calcium and magnesium ions from hard water are transferred by a special resin with sodium chloride (salt). The water reaches a pressure vessel where it passes into the beads of resin and sodium is replaced by calcium and magnesium. In regeneration stages, these calcium and magnesium ions are then absorbed, leaving only soft water behind.
What is hard water?
Strong water is water that, regardless of how the water has travelled across the Earth, contains a large number of mineral ions. Magnesium and calcium minerals are found in hard water , which makes it impossible to form a soap lather. This will also make water look murky and is responsible for the creation of limescale. On the other side, soft water contains few to no dissolved calcium or magnesium and much more readily forms a soap lather. Since there are no salts present, soft water does not lead to limescale formation. The main distinction between hard water and soft water is this.
What are the effects of hard water?
In the deposition of size and scum, the harmful results of rough water fall in. The telltale signs can be familiar to you. Tidemarks around baths and basins, white unsightly markings on sinks, bowls of toilets, and heads of showers. The build-up of this material will cause blockages in pipework in worst case situations and contribute to the premature failure of water heaters.
Hard water can result in a less than efficient wash due to its composition. Its rich mineral composition forbids a successful soap reaction. This essentially suggests that the processing of lather, foam, and bubbles is more complicated, resulting in less than optimal washing. Clothes can be left grey and dingy, while dull and smeared dishes and glasses can surface. The durability of your clothing and kitchen appliances can really be influenced.
How does a water softener work?
Water softeners work using a process called ion exchange, in which calcium and magnesium ions from hard water are exchanged with sodium chloride (salt) via a special resin. The water goes into a pressure vessel where it moves through the resin beads, and the calcium and magnesium are replaced by sodium. These calcium and magnesium ions are then removed in regeneration cycles, leaving behind only soft water.
7 benefits of soft water:
Longer lasting appliances; softened water will reduce the cost of maintenance and replacement of water heaters, dishwashers, washing machines, and showers by extending their life.
Prevent limescale; to reveal stunning surfaces that look brand new, the application of softened water would make scale vanish. Cleaning hours are shortened, which means you can spend more time on the stuff you want.
Cheaper bills; fuel bills were projected to increase by 9 percent at the end of last year, but softened water could improve heating performance at the end of last year.
Glossier hair; make those lavish shampoos last longer on poor hair days with a lifetime cure. Tools lather best in softened water to make the hair smoother, shinier and more manageable.
Softer skin; By relaxing it with softened water, help keep the skin in tip-top shape. In dry skin conditions, such as eczema, you will see changes.
Fewer household materials; about 50% of the use of laundry powder and toilet soap can be avoided by softened water, reducing the amount of shampoos , conditioners and cleaning products used.
Bigger bubble baths; bathtime becomes a treat without the need for bath oils or bubble bath drinks, as softened water has a clean silky feeling.
Types of water softener
Usually, water softeners come in either single or twin cylinder forms. You will find the single cylinder machine unable to keep up with demand as you need a huge volume of soft water, maybe for a large wash after a family dinner. Water softeners focus on a two-stage mechanism involving the isolation by the regeneration process of the calcium and magnesium ions accompanied by their elimination. The recovery cycle has difficulty keeping up as single cylinder devices are required to handle vast volumes of water.
Normally, an electrical timer activates the regeneration cycle, which regenerates the system when it is not normally in operation (for example, during the night or working day). The effect is that hard water will spill from your taps and it will take 4-5 days to complete the regeneration period and it will lose water and salt in the process. Twin cylinder water softeners work off the pressure and can continually regenerate.
How much does a water softener cost?
The cost of your Harvey™ Water Softener will vary according to the type and size you choose. However, the savings provided by a water softener can produce a payback within at little as 2 – 4 years.