Many people ask us how to soften hard water, but what they’re really trying to get at is a solution for their hard water problems.
Technically, there is only one way to actually “soften” water, but several ways to deal with minerals in water and the resulting problems. “Softening” water implies that the minerals–mainly calcium and magnesuim–have been mostly or entirely removed from the water, therefore making it soft. This is usually done by exchanging the minererals with sodium.
How to Soften Hard Water
Removing the minerals to “soften” hard water is achieved by passing the water through resin beds where the sodium is electrostatically bound to the resins. When the hard water flows through the resin bed, the negatively charged sodium soaked resins magnetically attract the positively charged minerals in the water. These minerals are absorbed by the resins while the sodium is released.
When the resin beds need more sodium the system will “recharge.” This means the system passes concentrated “brine” made up of sodium chloride or potassium chloride solution through the resins. This recharging process requires substantial amounts of water and salt brine. After recharging the resins, this salt brine is released into the sewer system.
Some experts claim that while this softening process does help, often softening systems will leave up to 50% of the minerals in the water. No water softening system gets them all out.
Other challenges with using water softeners to solve the hard water mineral problem is that while not entirely solving the hard water mineral problem, it does impose substantial environment problems through putting substantial amounts of sodium into the ground water which eventually ends up in the soil. Over time putting too much sodium into the soil will decrease its growing capacity. Some states and counties are in the process of outlawing the use of sodium based softeners due to these issues.
In summary, the problems with traditional water softening systems is that they:
- Add significant amounts of soduim to your drinking water
- Add significant amounts of sodium to your soil
- Fail to remove up to 50% of the minerals in your water
- Require constant maintenance and replinishment of sodium or potassium chloride
Now that you’ve learned how to soften hard water as well as some of the disadvantages of using traditional water softening systems, consider this eco-friendly alternative:
How to REALLY Solve Hard Water Problems
What if, instead of using chemicals to soften your water, you simply eliminated the negative effects of the minerals in your water?
The alternative, eco-friendly solution to hard water problems is to manipulate the electrostatic force that causes the minerals in your water to bind to your pipes, allowing them to simply pass through and do no harm.
Increasingly popular, Aqua Magnets are being used to work with hard water or mineral issues in water. While Aqua Magnets and “magnetic water softening” doesn’t remove the minerals and “soften” water in the traditional sense, they alter the state of the minerals and make them available for positive use in your home and on your lawn.
When water passes through Aqua Magnets, the naturally-occuring calcium in it is turned from a rock into a powder and cannot attach itself to your pipes, fixtures, or equipment. In other words, the nasty hard water scale buildup is eliminated (which is the whole reason people want to learn how to soften hard water in the first place).
The best part is that, with Aqua Magnets, the minerals remain in your water, adding nutritional value to everything they come in contact with.
If you want to eliminate hard water problems without adding heavy amounts of soduim to your water, you want Aqua Magnets, the eco-friendly and safe way to have clearer, better-tasting water.