Water from the tap is often too hard, which causes a lot of problems, starting with an unpleasant taste and ending with the failure of household appliances and utensils in which such a liquid is heated. What to do in such cases? How to soften water at home?
First of all, you need to understand what hard water is and why it needs to be softened. It is characterized by a high content of magnesium and calcium salts. Groundwater is abundantly saturated by them in the process of passing through layers of calcareous rocks. Of course, such water does not pose any particular problems to the health of the body, but it causes a lot of inconvenience in everyday life:
- Significantly reduces the service life of clothing, as it violates its color and adversely affects the structure of fabrics.
- Reduces the effectiveness of soaps and detergents.
- Hard water droplets leave whitish circles on glassware.
- Hair washed in hard water becomes excessively brittle and looks like a haystack.
- It is unpleasant to bathe and wash in it.
- On the heating elements of household appliances and on the walls of the kettle and pots, a thick layer of scale forms over time.
In order to prevent such problems, you need to know how to soften water for domestic needs. There are several basic ways to deal with this problem.
Magnetic based devices. Manufacturers of such devices assure that this is a wonderful non-chemical method that can significantly soften hard water. For exposure, a magnetic field is used, to create which an installation is made of a pair of magnets. It is understood that this helps to remove various impurities from the liquid, as well as magnesium and calcium ions. Magnets should be located outside on the water pipe.
In fact, such softeners can hardly be considered an effective tool. The only place where they are appropriate is the pipes located in the boiler rooms, since under the influence of the magnetic field the deposits in them become more loose and easier to remove.
Nozzles for a shower. Manufacturers claim that they saturate water with vitamin C, aromatize it, remove residual chlorine and soften it. They also attribute to their devices truly fantastic properties, in particular - a reduction in water consumption by half due to the fact that the design provides for a reduction in spraying. They also promise to increase the speed and pressure of water almost twice.
It is clear that such a tool is unlikely to cope with the task, but at least it does not harm.
Pitcher filters. They are a plastic container. A filter element is placed inside it. This method of cleaning and softening water is the easiest and cheapest. The only “but” is that you need to periodically replace the cartridge for more efficient filter operation. Especially for water softening, devices based on activated carbon have been developed.
Ion exchange softeners. As many people know, washing machines and dishwashers most often fail due to hard water. How to soften water for them? It is recommended to use ion-exchange devices. Devices of this type are two tanks. In one, there is an ion-exchange resin, and in the second there is a saline solution. First, water passes through the first reservoir with the resin, as a result of which the resin ions react with magnesium and calcium salts, removing them. Then the water is run through the second (with saline), where the lack of ions is replaced by sodium ions. Such magnetic exchange softens the hardness of the water.
Osmosis reverse action. It is considered the most reliable way to solve the problem of "how to soften water?" This method is based on the property of water, due to which it passes through a semipermeable membrane from a concentrated solution to a less concentrated one under the influence of pressure, which exceeds the difference in the osmotic for each solution. This allows you to retain impurities in the solution. The quality of the water received is quite high and as close as possible to clean water.
The disadvantage of this system is that it removes not only harmful impurities, but also useful ones.
Emollient salts. The use of such a tool is a prerequisite for the use of many dishwashers. It does not allow scale to spoil the mechanism of the dishwasher and is available in the form of tablets. The amount of funds depends on the hardness of the water. Most devices have a built-in indicator that tells you when to add salt.
The last way to solve the question is "how to soften hard water?" - thermal. It involves the distillation, heating or freezing of water. It is believed that the best way to fight for the purity and usefulness of a liquid is melt water. Make it very easy. To do this, take water and pour into a wide container, for example, in a pot. Put it in the cold or put in the freezer. When a small layer of ice forms on top, it is removed, since “solid” harmful substances are concentrated in it. The remaining water continues to freeze. When most of it freezes, it is necessary to remove the ice, and pour out the rest. Then the mass gradually melts and you get clean, soft water.
Now that you know how to soften the water, you just have to choose the best remedy for yourself, and never again suffer from its increased rigidity.