Hard Water Soft Water | How does a water softener work?
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A water softener reduces calcium or magnesium concentration in hard water. Hard water contains a lot of magnesium and/or calcium ions. These ions cause several problems including clogging pipes by building up deposits inside water pipes, water heaters and if hard water is consumed; one would find calcium or magnesium buildup in cookware, mostly in coffee machines and kettles.
This is because the ions dissolve easily in water, however they "like" to stick together. They also tend to bond with other substances such as the copper in the water pipes. Once a few ions bond with substances such as copper it is only a matter of time before other ions bond with them. Soon enough a cluster of calcium or magnesium ions form what could be described as "scale" or more informally "build up". These ions in the water not only cause problems in pipes but if one showers in hot water; the ions react with soap to form a "sticky scum" and hinders the soap's ability to lather properly.
To alleviate these problems with hard water, water has to be treated to reduce the calcium and magnesium concentration. Many ways exists to do just that, however for a household most of those ways are much too expensive. Thus water softeners are used. They come in either beads-filter or zeolite chemical-matrix-filter form and their main purpose is to replace calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions; because sodium neither creates massive deposits like calcium or magnesium and nor does it react to form sticky substance with your soap - therefore its ideal to rectify hard water problems.
How the softener works and how to install a water softener
How water softeners work is simple, water flows through zeolite or past the beads - these filters are saturated with sodium ions and when either calcium or magnesium ions come along they swap places with the sodium ion. So in the end magnesium and calcium ions remain on the bead or in the zeolite matrix while sodium ions get injected into the water.
Eventually all that remains inside the zeolite matrix and on the beads are calcium or magnesium ions at which point the filter either can be replaced of regenerated. information from www.wikipedia.com
Zeolites are minerals that have a porous structure.
There are about four dozen recognized naturally occurring zeolite minerals and as many or more synthetic varieties. They are basically hydrated alumino-silicate minerals with an "open" structure that can accommodate a wide variety of positive ions, such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and others. These positive ions are rather loosely held and can readily be exchanged for others in a contact solution. Some of the more common mineral zeolites are: analcime, chabazite, heulandite, natrolite, phillipsite, and stilbite. An example mineral formula is: Na2Al2Si3O10-2H2O, the formula for natrolite. Natural zeolites form where volcanic rocks and ash layers react with alkaline groundwater. There are several types of synthetic zeolites that form by a process of slow crystallization of a silica-alumina gel in the presence of alkalis and organic templates.
Zeolites are widely used as ion-exchange beds in domestic and commercial water purification, softening, and other applications. In chemistry, zeolites are used to separate molecules (only molecules of certain sizes and shapes can pass through), as traps for molecules so they can be analyzed, or as catalysts by confining molecules in small spaces, which causes changes in their structure and reactivity