Water softening systems West Midlands, UK, The Soft Option Company

The Soft Option Company - How Softeners Work

We call water 'hard' if it contains a lot of Calcium or Magnesium - (or a combination of both) which has dissolved into it.

Hard water causes many problems:

• lt causes 'limescale' ( also known as 'furring') to form on the inside of pipes, boilers, cylinders and appliances as Calcium and Magnesium precipitate out of the water when it is heated. Limescale also forms when water evaporates , leaving stains on sink surfaces, granite worktops and around toilet bowls.

• Limescale does not conduct heat well because it is a very good insulator . Not only does scale reduce the flow through pipes causing excessive pressure on water pumps, it pushes up energy bills because it has to be heated first, before that heat can reach the water.

The principle behind water softeners is simple :

Calcium and Magnesium ions in water are replaced with Sodium ions. (This process is known as 'ion exchange')

Since Sodium does not precipitate out in pipes , or react badly with soap, the problems with hard water are eliminated.

To 'catch' Calcium and Magnesium ions, hard water is passed through vessels containing Resin beads covered with Sodium ions.

As water flows past the Sodium ions they exchange places with the Calcium and Magnesium ions (ion exchange).

Eventually the Resin beads are saturated with Calcium and Magnesium - and the flow of hard water is transferred to a second vessel in the water softener unit -containing fresh Sodium covered resin.

Depending on the hardness level , a Kinetico water softener is adjusted to suit the water quality present , ensuring that maximum amount of water can be treated by each vessel.

The arrangement of two vessels in our water softener cabinet is referred to as a 'Duplex System'.

Regeneration involves soaking the Resin beads in a stream of Sodium ions.

Our water softeners are fully automatic, non electric, and only regenerate on demand.

Salt is Sodium Chloride, so a water softener will mix a very strong solution of salt and water (brine) and flush it through the resin beads - thus knocking off the collected Calcium and Magnesium ions, which are then flushed down the waste drain.

To avoid salty water being left in the Resin, our 'Kinetico' softeners flush softened water through the Resin to remove excess brine.