Hard Water and Treatments

Today many people are very concerned about the quality of the water that they drink. This statement is true because all you have to do is go to a local grocery store and see how many people are buying bottled water.

A hard water treatment system is only one method of reducing the amount of contaminants found in tap water. This is done to improve the overall quality of the water. What exactly is hard water? It is water that contains very high amounts of magnesium and calcium. Two problems can result because of this high mineral content.

Scale Formation

First, hard water can cause "scale" to form. Scales are formed through the precipitation of calcium carbonate which is a soluble salt. When scales build up, they become encrusted on the inside surfaces of the pipes and on other surfaces where water is used as a coolant or is used for heating.

Some other forms of scales include calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, magnesium hydroxide, barium sulfate, zinc phosphate, iron hydroxides and silica. All of these naturally occur in raw water supplies.

Scale formation is not really the problem that the hard water treatment system solves. It is the buildup of scale formation that presents the problem which the hard water treatment system provides a solution to.

Scales are not very good conductors of heat. Since scale deposits clog the pipes, it reduces the flow of water. It costs a great deal of money to maintain a water heating system and a boiler. By using a hard water treatment system, you will be able to reduce the cost of maintenance, and at the same time you will see an improvement in the efficiency of your boiler and heating system.

Soap Reaction

The effectiveness of soap detergents in the presence of hard water is greatly reduced. For those that operate a laundry service, this is a special concern. The water that has a high mineral content forms a sticky scum by reacting with the soap. Thus the soap does not lather as well. It also becomes less effective to use soap for washing. This is a big problem because the majority of us like to use soap to clean with.

You can avoid this problem if you use a hard water treatment system. When you reduce the mineral content in your water, especially magnesium and calcium, you are able to reduce the negative effect between the water and the soap. The soap now lathers readily.

How Hard Water Treatment Systems Work

The other term for a hard water treatment system is called a "water softener". This system replaces the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions thus making the water soft.

Sodium does not encrust the water pipes and it does not react in a bad way with soap. You will find that sodium is a much more desirable compound than magnesium and calcium to have in your water.