The Soft and Hard of it

"Soft water, hard water, are you mad!? Water is water... isn't it?"

No, actually this is a common misconception. Water comprises various chemicals within it's structure. Most of us know water as h2o which is water in it's purest form (2 parts hydrogen to 1 part oxygen). However, water interacts with lots of different elements in it's journey to our taps. The main two ingredients, calcium and magnesium, picked up a lot from limestone rock. Although filtered and cleansed at the reservoir, the water is never completely cleansed of all it's contaminants. In actual fact, chlorine is pumped in to our water supplies to rid it of harmful bacteria, VOC's and other impurities (for more information on chlorine filtration please click here).

Upon entering our homes, over a period of time the calcium and magensium leaves traces of what is commonly known as limescale. In a hard water household, you would find this on taps, baths, sinks, shower screens and appliances. Initially it begins as a streaky, almost powder like layer on the surfaces in contact with the water, which can build up to become quite a nightmare. Cleaning chemicals are very expensive, but in a hard water household, you will be sure to have a kitchen or utility cupboard full with bottles of toxic and quite horrible chemicals. As mentioned, these are costly, but what really will hit your wallet hard, are the larger, more invisible problems caused by hard water. The reaction of transferring calcium and magnesium to its solidified limescale form is accelerated, as with most chemical reactions, with heat. The water passing through your boiler, heat exchanger and hot water cylinder will begin to dramaticaly affect your heating systems performance. It will take longer, use more energy and cost more to heat your water through the barrier of limescale, eventually meaning you will need to replace these highly expensive pieces of equipment. Taps, Kettles and Washing Machines will be damaged too, inevitably leading to costly repairs or replacement.

"So how do I soften hard water?"

Water softeners have been around for many years, and work on quite a simple principle. Inside the system is a cylinder containing tiny balls of resin (known as the resin bed), only microns across. These resin beads are charged with sodium ions by washing them through with a brine solution. This solution is fresh water containing disolved salt. When hard water is passed through the resin bed an ion exchange process takes place. This is simply an exhange of particles, the magnesium and calcium in the water swaps places with the sodium. Due to the ratio of the ion exhange process (1ppm Sodium added = 2.18ppm hardness removed) it takes a long time before the sodium is completely depleted from the resin, for an average household this can be around 2-4 days. At which point the softener will regenerate. This involves it making a brine solution and rinsing through the resin bed as before, however this time the exchange process works in reverse and much faster. This principle is used with each and every softener, however over the years new technologies and manufacturing techniques have lead to innovations cutting salt usage down, allowing systems to regenerate no matter what time of day, there are even systems which do not use electricity to control when they will regenerate.

"How will a softener affect my lifestyle?"

First of all you can say goodbye to all the above mentioned hard water problems. Your bathroom will hold it's prestine showroom shine, your laundry will feel softer then it has ever done before, the feel of soft water on your skin can only be described as silk. All the cleaning chemicals you bought will be at their bare minimum, no longer will that cupboard smell of toxins. Your heating bills will fall as the limescale begins to deteriorate and the boiler will have less strain on itself. Eventually you will benefit from higher pressure throughout your home as the limescale within your pipework disappears leaving an easy passage for the water to reach your taps and appliances.

"What expenses are involved?"

After the initial purchase and installation cost, you will only need to put salt in the machine. This salt is purified for specific use with water softeners. Table salt won't work! At todays standards of manufacturing, the top end softeners are averaged to last between 18-24 years. However, even these have been known to last up to 30 years in some cases. Balance the cost of the softener against what you will save by not needing the cleaning chemicals, the lowered bills and the significantly lowered times you will need to replace that kettle or washing machine, and you will find you will be saving every time.

"What are the health benefits of a water softener?"

Washing with soft water is a different feeling all together, the water feels smooth and after washing your skin will feel revived, along with your hair which will feel silky and have a slightly more vibrant colour. Over the years the water softener industry has come across many a family whom have a sufferer of eczema or other irritable skin condition. As of yet there is no scientific proof that softened water can treat these conditions. But a national test is still being carried out to give a final result known as the Swet Trial (to find out more visit www.swet-trial.co.uk). In the meantime, we go on the feedback we receive from customers, which points out to us that softened water can relieve the conditions at least to some extent.

"I've heard that softened water can be bad for drinking and gardening, is this true?"

As mentioned above, the ion exchange ratio means a lot less sodium ends up in the water than calcium/magnesium is removed. However, it will innevitably increase the amount of sodium in your water supply. There is no factual evidence of softened water being harmfull and many people with softeners in their homes happily drink from their soft water taps. Although we do recommend to keep one cold tap (normally at the kitchen sink) on a hard supply for drinking. If this is not possible due to location of softener, we will recommend a Reverse Osmosis system to purify the water. In any case, Water Board Regulations state that if a water supply is 400ppm in hardness coming in to the house, then there must be a hard water tap or RO system installed. If any, the health risks of drinking soft water would affect those on a sodium controlled diet, mainly babies and the elderly. In terms of gardening, there has been some evidence of sodium not being at all good for plants and we would therefore retain your garden tap as hard also.

"I've looked around, but i'm not sure what system to go for."

A common problem which is daunting for most. A lot of websites and dealerships in the industry tend to over complicate things. You could have, timer controlled, meter controlled, twin cylinders, non-electric, single cylinder, commercial, domestic, high flow, high efficiency. With that all being thrown at you on top of the science bit, it's no wonder you can be baffled with choices. But, we have tried to make things as simple as possible by creating the Buzz-Words guide to Softeners, which contains all the information on these technical terms to help you make the best choices possible.

"Where do I go from here?"

Once you have browsed our products and if you wish to proceed to purchase, we would next discuss with you either by phone or at our showroom what system you wish to go for and ask the relevant questions required to size up the system thats right for you. We would then book an installation date convinient for you, possibly popping in a few days before to check the plumbing etc if required. Our engineer will then arrive on the date to install your equipment. We will then commission it at the end to validate your warranty and ensure all is working fine, lastly instructing the client how to use the their new equipment. After that you just need to enjoy the benfits of your new soft water lifestyle.