Hard water causes two specific problems. Firstly, the calcium and magnesium residue from hard water precipitates forming a scale like material, which clogs the water pipes. And secondly, hard water tends to reduce the soap’s ability to lather, whether in the shower or sinks and also reacts to soap forming a sticky substance.
There are several commercial ways to tackle this challenge. Filtration in faucets improves water quality, but is expensive. Chemical softeners are subtly effective, yet harmful to the environment and render the water naturally undrinkable. Decaling is usually confused with water softening, as it only addresses the issue of scale build-up and does not consist of any subsequent whole house water purification.
Water softeners are widely used and are economic. Its function includes ion-exchange of the positive charged ions in hard water with sodium or potassium exchange ions. The water softening process frees the hard water from the minerals and decreases the risk of scaling and irreversible boiler damage, leading to years of reliable water supply. Continue reading