Determining the hardness of the water is important before attempting to soften it. Every establishment be it a factory or household utilizes water and none of it is pure. Hard water is very high in calcium and magnesium . Although there is no health hazards involved with hard water, it is still an inconvenience. The inconvenience however stems from the issue that hard water reduces the capacity of all forms of cleaning activities. There are several methods of softening hard water:
1) Chemicals- Chemical method is the most inexpensive way of treating hard water. Two chemicals used in the water treatment are sal soda and Calgon. using materials such as sal soda can leave residue after combining with magnesium and calcium. The solid particles can cling to the fabric, which can leave behind some debris.
2) Salt- It is one of the most common ways to soften water . In this particular method, the water that enters the house is filtered through the zeolite minerals. A reaction occurs during the treatment process which replaces the magnesium and calcium ions to be replaced by sodium. The zeolite minerals need to be changed on a regular basis and this can be done by partially submerging the minerals in salt and water pellets . This system includes a large tank where the bags of softener salts are regularly added. With the help of the timer, the salt water system will recharge or rejuvenate the zeolite minerals.
3) Magnets- to make water really suitable for drinking and gardening, the salt method is not effective. In this method, specially designed magnets are attached to waterlines entering the building. The water passes the magnet and all the undesirable substances are pulled by the magnets. However, the filters need to be changed on a regular basis.
Author Resource:
This article was written by Mark, He is one of the active memmber of BBB association South San Francisco. In this article he explains about how to soften hard water. You can have a peek into his suggestions: