What Makes Water Hard & Soft?

Water hardness is caused by the presence of minerals like calcium and magnesium. These minerals can bind to each other and form insoluble compounds, making the water hard. Conversely, soft water has low levels of these minerals and is less likely to cause scale build-up in pipes and appliances.

Let's discuss this concept in more detail.

Methods To Soften Hard Water

There are several ways to soften water. One common practice is to use a water softener. This appliance takes hard water and runs it through an ion exchange resin, where the calcium ions are exchanged for sodium ions. The resulting softened water has fewer dissolved minerals.

Another way to soften water is to use an ion-exchange filter of some kind. These devices can be used on the point of entry or point of use basis. They remove the calcium and magnesium by ion exchange, same as a water softener, but they do not add sodium.

However, ion-exchange filters can be pretty expensive to buy, install (and replace). They also need periodic regeneration with salt or potassium chloride. This makes them best suited for residential applications where you plan on staying for a considerable time.

Another option is an activated carbon filter or water purifier that employs ion-exchange technology. This device does not cause scale build-up in appliances because it removes the minerals rather than exchanging them.

These devices effectively remove impurities from water, including chlorine, lead, and other heavy metals.

They also tend to be less expensive than ion-exchange filters, making them a good option for people on a budget. Activated carbon filters need to be replaced regularly, but this is generally much less frequent than replacing water softeners or ion-exchange filters.

There's also a water purifier technology called reverse osmosis (or RO for short). RO is very effective at removing contaminants from water, including impurities like heavy metals and nitrates.

However, this comes at the cost of requiring frequent replacement of the filters. So you'll need to get new filters regularly, or you'll start seeing a decrease in water pressure.

RO also removes many beneficial minerals from water, including calcium and magnesium. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on your needs. If you're looking to remove as many contaminants as possible from your water, RO is a great option. But if you want to keep the minerals in your water, then RO is a bad choice.

Why Soft Water?

Softened water can be quite pleasant and prevent problems like scale build-up and dry skin. But if you're on a budget, an activated carbon filter is a good option.

If you don't mind spending a little more money, an ion-exchange filter is probably your best option.

Some water softening devices use a resin bead process where sodium or potassium ions exchange places with the calcium and magnesium, which cause scale build-up in pipes and appliances.

A water softener increases sodium levels in the household's drinking water. High-sodium diets can lead to health problems such as increased blood pressure.

Winding-Up

Softening agents like salt may be used to reduce the hardness level.

In some cases, this may be beneficial, but there's no easy fix for all households that have hard tap water.

To find out how to mitigate this issue at your residence, call a plumber to help manage your water hardness!