Hard water is high in dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium. You might notice that your house has hard water. If after washing dishes with soap, your hands felt like they had a slimy residue left on them, that’s the first sign. This is also a sign to learn how to soften your water. Perhaps, you were taking a shower and couldn’t seem to get all of the conditioners out of your hair no matter how long you rinsed. In hard water, the soap reacts with the calcium to form something called “soap scum,” meaning you will have to use more soap or detergent to get things clean. In this article, we will be discussing how to soften hard water.
How do I know if I have Hard Water?
If you’ve ever done a load of dishes in the dishwasher only to take them out and see spots on your glasses, you’re looking at just another example of hard-water residue. While hard water doesn’t harm people, it can be unsightly and annoying. It can also cause costlier damage than many homeowners are aware of. We’ll take a look at some methods below on how to soften water so this doesn’t happen to you.
Is Hard Water Bad for Me?
When hard water heats in your home water heater, solid deposits of calcium carbonate will form, reducing the life of the equipment, raising the cost of heating water, lowering the efficiency of electric water heaters, and clogging pipes. You can even see the mineral buildup in your home coffee maker, which is why it’s not an uncommon practice for many people to run vinegar through their pot. The acidity of the vinegar helps dissolve the calcium carbonate so that it can easily be washed away.
Many homeowners are worried about softening their water using a traditional salt system because the added sodium can be dangerous for those who are on low or no-sodium diets due to high blood pressure. While most soft water is safe to drink, the amount of sodium in the treated water depends entirely on the original hardness of the water. As a general rule of thumb, if the water hardness was below 440 ppm before treatment, then you should be able to drink it without any concern.
Signs of hard water in your home include:
- White scaling on faucets
- Soap scum on tubs and sinks
- Dingy whites in your laundry
- Mineral residue left on your dishes and glassware
An overwhelming 85% of the U.S. has hard water. The likelihood that your city or state has it is high. Check out this map to see where your region falls on the hard water scale.
How to Soften Hard Water
So what are some good methods for softening water? Most people opt for either salt-based or salt-free water conditioning. Both methods are effective in removing the minerals that cause water hardness in the first place. The most effective means of achieving water softening is through an ion-exchange process. The calcium and magnesium cations are removed and replaced with other mineral cations such as sodium chloride or potassium salts.
How to Soften Water Ion-Exchange
Ion-exchange water softening is the most effective method to soften the water in your entire house. The process is based on the fact that like charges repel one another, and opposite charges attract.
The exchange of hard minerals for sodium takes place by passing hard water over man-made ion exchange resin beads in a pressure vessel tank. The resin in the water softeners consists of millions of tiny plastic beads, which are negatively charged while the calcium, magnesium, and sodium they are exchanging are positively charged.
Eventually, all of the resin exchange sites will be fully occupied, and no further water softening can occur. To recharge your tank, the water softener’s resin regenerates about once a week with a brine solution.
Recharging your system is softening water in reverse. Brine draws from the brine tank, mixing water with the salt in the reservoir. This solution flows through the resin, displacing calcium and magnesium ions. All exchange sites are taken up by sodium ions once again, and the system is then ready for the next softening cycle.
Ion-exchange systems typically come with two tanks, one resin and one brine. However, some systems come with dual tanks.
Template Assisted Crystallization or Nucleation Assisted Crystallization
These systems soften water without the use of salt, making them a healthy option. Nucleation-assisted crystallization (NAC) works by changing the way that magnesium and calcium interact with surfaces. They form micro-crystals that remain suspended in water, not adhering to surfaces. Another plus is that they don’t generate wastewater, and they don’t use nonrenewable resources.
How to Soften Water With Reverse Osmosis
This type of system purifies your water using a semi-permeable membrane to filter your water. This will reduce nearly all contaminants and minerals, which will flush down the drain, leaving you with clear water. This process reduces salt, minerals, and any other impurities.
Buyer beware, constantly filtering hard water will wear out an RO membrane faster and waste a lot of water. If your water has a strange taste or smell due to contaminants beyond minerals, you may need this type of system to filter your water fully.
The good news is that you can use an ion-exchange water softening system along with a reverse osmosis system. The first can be used throughout the house. The second can be installed under a sink to provide purified water at the tap for cooking and drinking.
How to Soften Hard Water With Chelation
Chelation is a water softening system typically used in commercial settings such as restaurants, laundromats, and factories. It has only recently become available for household use. This water softening process is different from the rest. It doesn’t remove hardness ions from the water but changes their charge to make them less reactive.
Drinking this type of softened water still gives you the same mineral benefits that calcium and magnesium offer. However, you do not have to deal with limescale buildup on surfaces.
