Introduction
Just after issue pertain to drinking water, more than 85% homeowners will straight up agree that hard water is the second most common residential problems! In fact, studies show that irrespective of the source, households around the country are equally likely to have hard water.
The question then becomes; what exactly does this oxymoron mean? Moreover, as for drinking water we have water purifiers of various forms and names……what about Hard Water? Whether installation of any Water Conditioner/Softener will help in softening my available household water? Answer to this question is not as easy/readily available as drinking water. There’s more to the story.
In the following sections, we walk you through the major problems of hard water and how a water softener can fix them for good.
So, let’s get down to business, shall we?
So what is Hard Water?
We all learned in school that water is H2O – two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom make up a water molecule, right? What many of us don’t realize is that extra stuff can get into the water we drink. Some of it is perfectly safe to consume, while other water contaminants could negatively impact your family’s health. But tap water is certainly not 100% pure H2O.
Hard water is basically water containing a high mineral count. Groundwater often percolates through limestone where it picks up calcium and magnesium deposits.
Drinking water can also contain trace minerals like iron, which gets picked up from the soil, lakes and rivers – even older, corroded plumbing. In some regions, hard water may also contain manganese or aluminum.
Of course, things like calcium, magnesium and iron aren’t necessarily bad for you. In fact, they’re actually beneficial nutrients. However, hard water sediments can also carry potentially harmful bacteria along with them. A 2014 study found hard water scaling is directly responsible for bacterial growth in residential drinking water.
Why Hard water is ‘Dangerous’ for your family
Here are eight potential problems hard water causes. Do any of them sound familiar?
1. Your family suffering from hair troubles e.g. hair fall, dandruff dry, coarse, frizzy hair, dries out your scalp, causing dandruff and eventually excessive hair fall.
(Suggest to refer Annexure-1 below to know more).
2. Your family has skin issues like dry, itchy, irritated skin with clogged pores leads to blemishes like pimples and zits form, acne/eczema also resulting early ageing of skin.
(Suggest to refer Annexure-2 below to know more)
3. Your water tastes or smells funny.
4. You’re getting strange stains.
5. You’re constantly cleaning up soap scum.
6. Your showering experience suffers.
7. Your pipes keep getting clogged.
8. Your clothes aren’t getting clean.
9. Your appliances are wearing out quickly.
It’s not difficult to see how hard water can cost you money in the long run. In fact, it’s estimated that hard water expenses could cost you huge every year.
But out of all, first two are Gifts of God and damage to Hair & Skin to your family irrecoverable. Hence, no price is equitable to these losses.
Hence, in this write-up we will mainly focus how we could find-out for them.
So Should You Get a Water Conditioner/Softener?
If you’re sick and tired of dealing with hard water in your home, a water softener is the most effective and most permanent solution to hard water challenges.
There are different solutions to different problems, but there’s only one perfect answer to all your hard water issues. That would be installing a water softener in your home.
Water softeners remove things like calcium, magnesium and iron from your water as it comes in from the source. It’s an investment that could save you headaches as well as money.
Which Water Conditioner/Softener we should buy?
Generally there are six different types of water softeners. Some of these will condition the water for your whole house while others will only soften the water to a single shower or faucet.
- Ion-exchange systems use salt to exchange sodium ions for the hard-mineral ions present in the water.
- Salt-free systems neutralize the hard minerals so that they can no longer form bonds.
- Portable water softeners provide you with conditioned water anywhere you go without the need for tools or electricity.
- Showerhead softeners make it easy and affordable to shower with soft water and avoid scale on your shower walls and fixtures.
- Reverse osmosis strips the water of all impurities by forcing it through a membrane at high pressure, and then reintroducing the essential minerals you need for health and flavor.
- Finally, magnetic water softeners easily install by wrapping around your pipes and neutralize the hard-mineral ions as they pass by.
Be sceptical about water softeners that claim to work with methods other then ‘Ion- exchange’. Most of these are pseudoscience scams, including softeners that use magnetism, electric coils, radio pulses, or “catalysts”. At best, these will reduce the amount of mineral scale that sticks to appliances — and many won’t even do this.
Ion-exchange Water Softener
Here’s a quick overview of the process:
- The hard water enters the water softener.
- Tiny beads (containing sodium) in the resin bed attract the hard water minerals, removing them from the water and onto the resin bed.
- Soft water enters your home with none of those hard water minerals like calcium and magnesium.
- When the resin beads are full of hard water minerals, it’s time for the regeneration process.
- During regeneration, the brine is pumped through the resin tank.
- The brine solution and the hard water minerals are flushed from the tank into a nearby drain or for reuse before the softening process starts again.
Refer the video link below for easy understanding
Does Water Softener Remove Iron?
Apart from eliminating calcium and magnesium, water softeners can also remove dissolved (ferrous) iron in small quantities. The presence of iron leads to darkening of water, which may then leave visible stains on bathtubs, floors, sinks and toilets.
In case of insoluble (ferric) iron, water softeners aren’t much of a help. This is because ferric iron clings to the resin beads, resisting even the regeneration cycle. Over time, such an accumulation produces slugs of iron in soft water, in addition to diminishing the lifespan of resin beads.
If your water softener is processing large amounts of iron water, a chemical solution like Rust Ore is ideal for the regeneration process. Not only does it thoroughly cleanse the resin bead, but it also prolongs their service life. In our opinion, iron filters are more suitable for this job.
Design Water Softener as per your specific requirements.
Now, as you decided to go for a water softener (Ion-exchange type only), next step is to design it as per your specific requirement.
The steps are,-
The Source
The source of domestic water is very important. If it is bore well or municipal supply or mixed ……matters a lot. Also availability and effectiveness of premises WTP (water treatment plant) plays an important role.
If the primary source of water is bore well, Hardness is an inevitable part, though magnitude depends upon the country, its province and particular location. On the other hand, most of the Municipalities seem not very concerned about Hardness of water. Hence, quality of source water in your premises most likely will not be the same with your down the road neighbour.
The Test
There are many types of DIY tests/kits available in local market as well as online.
But it’s always better to take help of some water test lab and get the result.
Hardness (as ppm) Classification
- 0 – 40 Very Soft
- 40 – 120 Soft
- 120 – 400 Hard
- 400 – 1000 Very Hard
Present lab rate for total hardness test is +/- Rs 350 per sample.
The Permissible Limits
As per IS:10500 the Permissible limit of Hardness is 200mg/l (with maximum limit as 600mg/l)
Hence, based on the (i) Source of water, (ii) Test result & (iii) Permissive limit (of local statutory body/customer) the degree of treatment and required consumables vary.
National Building Code guidelines
As per latest NBC (National Building Code, 2016) the general requirement of domestic water (pipe supply) per person per day considered as 135 litre. For luxury dwelling unit it’s @ 200 LPCD. Members of per dwelling unit considered as 5 heads. So, the requirement of water per family per day will be 5 x 135 = 675 litre.
Now, if we consider soft water requirement only for bathing, then it will be 5 x @ 55 LPCD = 275 litre. Flow Rate for shower head generally considered as @ 10 LPM (i.e. litre/minute) for normal water and @ 6.5 LPM for storage hot water supply.
The Quantity of Soft water Required
Needless to mention, based on your residential/commercial (i.e. single or multi-storied stand-alone building or condominium of nos. of towers) capacity of water-softening unit shall be designed.
For domestic single family usage also it could be for entire building (of single/multiple floors) or an apartment unit. Even in an apartment unit, based on the architectural plan, the water supply distribution stack could be single or multiple for different wash-rooms & kitchen.
Also, any customer may wish to have soft water arrangement only in single/multiple shower heads only with/without connection ti washing machine &/or dishwasher.
Hence, estimation of quantity required and subsequent selection of softener capacity is also property specific.
How to Calculate Resin Capacity & Salt Quantity for Softener
Post estimation of requirement of Soft Water, now we have to calculate the quantity of Resin & Salt required to design the capacity/model of Softener.
How to calculate the resin capacity?
The Resin Exchange Capacity is mention into the product’s supplier Data Sheet*.
Normally cationic exchange capacity : 55/liter of resin.
Hence, Liter of resin = (Feed Hardness in ppm X Water Qty M3) / Exchange capacity
If the requirement of soft water is 1000 litre/day (=1 M3) to be softened at 600 ppm (=700mg/l) of Feed Hardness to 5 ppm (=100mg/l), the requirement of resin will be = (600 x 1 / 55) = 10.90 or say 11 litre.
How to Calculate Salt Quantity?
Considering @ 150 Gram NaCl required per litre of resin, here the requirement NaCl will be 11 x 0.150 Kg = 1.65 Kg.
Now, quantity of water require to dilute @100% solution will be = 1.65/0.320 = 5.16 Litre.
(considering solubility of NaCl @ 320 Gram NaCl @ 20 Deg C / litre of Water)
To get 10 % solution add (5.16 x 10 =) 51.60 litre of water
Now (5.16 + 51.60=) 56.76 litre is having for regeneration and that much of water to be injected 20 Minute and then start backwash process to another 40 minute.
After that fast rinse until get hardness is < 5 ppm once it is reached now the plant is ready to start the process, it can extract up to 1 M3 (1000 litre).
Feed pressure to be maintained up 1.5 – 2 Bar,
* Resign exchange capacity to be checked as it does vary product to product.
Final Words
So, even if you aren’t bother about (i) your water tastes or smells funny, (ii) you’re constantly cleaning up soap scum, (ii) your clothes aren’t getting clean, (ii) your pipes keep getting clogged frequently, (iii) your appliances are wearing out quickly, (iv) you’re getting strange stains etc……. but for the sake to protect Hair & Skin of your family….. installation of Water Conditioner/Softener is a must for you within best possible time.
Annexure-1 : Hard Water Vs. Soft Water – Effects On Your Hair
No matter what we do, sometimes our hair simply won’t cooperate. From dry ends in the winter to excessive frizz in the summer, it can be hard to predict what type of hair troubles you’ll encounter. But did you know the problem may actually be in your home’s water?
The hardness or softness of your home’s water can impact your shower experience. That’s because the mineral build-up in hard water can make it difficult to create a sudsy lather when shampooing and conditioning your hair, so if you notice a lack of suds when you mix soap and water, you’re likely dealing with hard water.
Treating Hard Water Hair
If hard water is a problem in your home, you may notice your hair feels filmy and straw-like. This is because the excess minerals in the water combine with shampoo to for a curd-like substance that sticks to your hair, much like soap scum sticks to the walls of your shower. Your initial reaction may be to wash your hair more frequently to remove the soapy residue from your hair; however, the more often you shampoo your hair in hard water, the less moisture can effectively enter the hair strands. This results in dry, coarse, and frizzy hair, and also dries out your scalp, causing dandruff.
You also may notice your hair has a harder time retaining colour. The minerals in hard water deposit on the hair shaft, often causing coloured hair to turn a brassy tone. Frequent washing may also cause the colour to fade quicker as well.
If you struggle with hard water hair, the good news is there are solutions that can help you tame your mane. However, only one provides an easy, permanent fix to your home’s hard water problem.
1. Use a Clarifying Shampoo
One way to keep your hair looking great and behaving well is to wash occasionally with a clarifying shampoo. Clarifying shampoo is different than daily shampoo as it penetrates minerals in water and products left behind from styling, whereas ordinary shampoo works to solely remove excess oil from your hair and scalp.
It’s important to note that clarifying shampoos are designed to strip your hair of stubborn residue and mineral buildup and can be harsh on hair if used too frequently. To combat hard water hair, you should incorporate a clarifying shampoo into your shower routine one to two times per month.
2. Create Your Own Vinegar Rinse
One do-it-yourself solution for protecting your hair against hard water is to use a vinegar rinse. Because vinegar is acidic, it works to remove the scaly buildup of minerals like magnesium and calcium from your hair.
Distilled white vinegar will work; however, the preferred type for this rinse is apple cider vinegar. To create a vinegar rinse, simply combine 1 tablespoon of vinegar with 3 cups of water. Apply this concoction close to the scalp after shampooing and allow it to sit for a few minutes before rinsing it. To retain the moisture in your hair, apply this rinse once a week.
3. Rinse with Bottled or Filtered Water
Another option to protect your hair from hard water is to use bottled water or filtered water for the final rinse in your shower. While neither option offers a permanent solution to hard water in the home, this can temporarily resolve your hair’s unruliness from excessive mineral buildup.
Keeping bottles of water near your shower might seem inconvenient and can add up to be quite an expense over time. Another more sustainable alternative is to use filtered water from a pitcher or jug.
4. Protect Your Hair for Good with a Water Softener
There are solutions to temporarily alleviate flat or oily hair caused by hard water, but for long-lasting, continual results, installing a water softener is the way to go.
Water softeners work to remove calcium and magnesium in your home’s water supply, leaving you with soft water and smooth, manageable hair. Soft water requires less soap and fewer rinses to achieve optimal results, meaning your hair will maintain its color and condition for much longer. Soft water also balances your hair’s pH level, so you’re left with silky smooth hair after every wash.
And, as an added bonus, soft water can help to reduce topical issues such as eczema flare-ups and dry skin.
If you’re tired of dull, lifeless, unruly hair, don’t wait any longer for a permanent solution! Contact a residential water treatment expert near you for more information on installing a water softener that’s right for you.
Annexure-2 : Hard Water Vs. Soft Water – The Effects On Your Skin
How does your skin feel when you step out of the shower? Would you call it silky smooth or squeaky clean?
Do you feel dry and itchy after bathing? Do you have to lotion up every day to avoid itchiness and skin irritation?
The water in your home can have significant effects on the condition of your skin, and it may all come down to whether you have hard water or soft water.
What Hard Water Can Do to Your Skin
Hard water contains dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium. Those minerals make it harder for water to form a solution with soap, and it leaves behind a scummy residue.
If you have hard water in your home, you’ll notice that white soap scum all over your bathroom fixtures. Hard water can also clog up your plumbing and your shower head, reducing pressure.
But what you may not realize is that same soap scum builds up on your skin. Instead of getting a nice lather, you’re leaving behind a residue that clogs your pores the same way it clogs your pipes. Clogged pores can lead to breakouts and worsen skin conditions like acne or eczema.
The natural oils your body produces are distributed through the pores of your skin. When those pores are clogged, the oil gets trapped and blemishes like pimples and zits form.
Not only can soap scum from hard water clog your pores, many people find it also causes them to feel dry, itchy, and irritated. The minerals in hard water can actually strip moisture from your skin while preventing the natural oils your body produces from doing their job, which is to lubricate your skin and hold in moisture.
Hard water may also be making your skin age faster. That means it could cause you to look older than you really are!
Most of the Dermatologists advise that, many of the impurities in hard water, like iron and magnesium, can form free radicals that damage healthy skin cells. That can lead to fine lines and wrinkles. Free radical damage can even cause a breakdown of collagen, which is a structural protein that helps your skin look and feel firm and healthy.
If you are experiencing the negative effects of hard water; don’t worry – there’s a solution.
Why Soft Water is Better for Maintaining Healthy-looking Skin
One of the biggest advantages to having a water softener installed in our home is the fact that soft water is better for cleaning. That goes for your clothes and dishes as well as your skin.
Soft water makes it easier to form a sudsy lather, and it makes it easier to rinse the soap away. That means your soap works more efficiently and you aren’t left with that pore-clogging soap scum residue all over your body.
Because of the fact you don’t get a good lather with hard water, you’ll find yourself using more soap to get clean, which only exacerbates the problem more. But with soft water, you will be able to use less soap product to get clean. In fact, after installing a water softener, you may not need to purchase the expensive body wash and lotion you thought you needed.
It’s really quite simple to understand…
Hard water is hard on your skin. Soft water is gentler on your skin. Hard water makes it difficult to get completely clean. Soft water is better for getting your body completely clean.
Squeaky Clean vs. Your Natural Sheen
Some people get used to the feeling of washing their bodies in hard water. They incorrectly assume that the “squeaky clean feeling” we get after showering means the soap did its job.
However, what you’re really experiencing is the sticky soap scum all over you – not to mention dead skin and dirt that didn’t get washed away.
On the other hand, when some people first have a water softener installed in their home, they notice a slick or slippery feeling to their skin. It’s easy to assume you are not getting completely clean and blame it on the soft water, but that’s not the case.
The slippery feeling is how your clean skin is actually supposed to feel. Since the natural oils from your own body haven’t been stripped from your skin, it feels different. Don’t forget, those natural oils serve an important purpose.
The truth is, the idea of “squeaky clean skin” is more of a marketing tactic than anything else. That squeak comes from mineral deposits and soap scum.
Water Quality and Skin Conditions
Softening your water is not a cure for any sort of skin disease or chronic condition. However, it can be a helpful step towards avoiding irritation and improving certain health problems.
There has been a significant amount of research examining how hard water may impact the common skin condition, eczema. This is something that experts say affects 20% of kids 11 and under, as well as 8% of teenagers and adults.
Many studies that took place across world, found schoolchildren who lived in areas with hard water were 50% more likely to suffer from eczema. Other agencies have identified hard water as an environmental trigger for eczema.
Hard water may not be the cause of skin conditions, but there is a lot of evidence indicating it can aggravate things further. With soft water, you’ll be less likely to clog your pores and dry out your skin, you won’t be as itchy and irritated, and you’ll be more likely to have the beautiful, clear skin you want.
Disclaimer: All indicative images and few other references taken from internet and websites.
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