| Author |
Message |
    
turliers
Citizen
Username: Turliers
Post Number: 10
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2004 - 8:48 pm: |     |
hi
does anyone have experience of water softeners? there seem to be so many - salt- based, magnetic,catalytic, electric.
we are looking to buy one but dont know where to start. any advice would be great?
thanks
catriona |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 119
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 2:53 am: | |
We rent one. I think it is Jayson brand. Salt based. |
Richard O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Roconn
Post Number: 100
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 11:51 am: | |
I have a question? Why?
Apparently at some point in the past this was all the rage, but I've noted that most of my neighbors (including me) have either turned them on bypass or removed them all together (my route).
I didn't think the water around here was so hard it was required. I get good suds both in the shower and in the washer .... and my dishwashers get the dishes clean ...
Before you add a water softener, I'd have the water tested for hardness ... I just don't think the water in this area is that hard.
Richard (ROC)
--Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.--
--AIM: ROConn |
Richard O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Roconn
Post Number: 101
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 12:04 pm: | |
Ok...so you got me curious ... and I went looking ... apparently salt based softeners are against the law in many municipalities....
here's a link: http://clearwatermax.com/compare.htm
Here's some info from "how stuff works"
We call water "hard" if it contains a lot of calcium or magnesium dissolved in it. Hard water causes two problems:
It can cause "scale" to form on the inside of pipes, water heaters, tea kettles and so on. The calcium and magnesium precipitate out of the water and stick to things. The scale doesn't conduct heat well and it also reduces the flow through pipes. Eventually, pipes can become completely clogged.
It reacts with soap to form a sticky scum, and also reduces the soap's ability to lather. Since most of us like to wash with soap, hard water makes a bath or shower less productive.
The solution to hard water is either to filter the water by distillation or reverse osmosis to remove the calcium and magnesium, or to use a water softener. Filtration would be extremely expensive to use for all the water in a house, so a water softener is usually a less costly solution.
The idea behind a water softener is simple. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium ions. Since sodium does not precipitate out in pipes or react badly with soap, both of the problems of hard water are eliminated. To do the ion replacement, the water in the house runs through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical matrix called zeolite. The beads or zeolite are covered with sodium ions. As the water flows past the sodium ions, they swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions. Eventually, the beads or zeolite contain nothing but calcium and magnesium and no sodium, and at this point they stop softening the water. It is then time to regenerate the beads or zeolite.
Regeneration involves soaking the beads or zeolite in a stream of sodium ions. Salt is sodium chloride, so the water softener mixes up a very strong brine solution and flushes it through the zeolite or beads (this is why you load up a water softener with salt). The strong brine displaces all of the calcium and magnesium that has built up in the zeolite or beads and replaces it again with sodium. The remaining brine plus all of the calcium and magnesium is flushed out through a drain pipe. Regeneration can create a lot of salty water, by the way -- something like 25 gallons (95 liters).
Here are some interesting links:
Ask the Culligan Man - water treatment FAQ
Can water go bad?
How Water Towers Work
How Water Heaters Work
Richard (ROC)
--Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.--
--AIM: ROConn |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 125
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 3:15 pm: | |
Water has been tested, of course. Maplewood's water is some of the hardest in the country. |
Richard O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Roconn
Post Number: 102
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 7:30 pm: | |
Didn't know that 
Richard (ROC)
--Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.--
--AIM: ROConn |
Cedar
Citizen
Username: Cedar
Post Number: 110
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 10:04 am: | |
Due to an upcoming installation of a dishwasher with a water softening feature, I had to call NJAWC to find out the hardness of the water in Maplewood. They tell me that the hardness is between 6.0 and 6.11 grains/gallon. The dishwasher's operating instructions indicate that the water should be softened only if hardness is consistently above 8 gr/gal., so the water can't be too hard. |
Richard O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Roconn
Post Number: 119
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 9:40 am: | |
The other thing I've noticed....if you're handy with tools, this is a job you could tackle yourself ... requires cutting one pipe, adding a couple of valves and sweating some fittings together. And both HD and Sears sell water softeners.
Richard (ROC)
--Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.--
--AIM: ROConn |
gemini
Citizen
Username: Gemini
Post Number: 267
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 1:51 pm: | |
since installing ours, we've been so itchy. You need to rinse everying twice, including your bod!! Good thing washer has double rinse cycle. But no more white stuff on faucets, and glasses come clean. |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 134
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 2:10 pm: | |
That's odd, we got ours because we have sensitive skin, so we would not be itchy.
Water softener guy came the other day -- our water hardness is at 0 because of the softener
Around here it varies -- Maplewood has some hard water -- Union is up into the double digits.. etc... |
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