Food and Drug Administration considers to be in the "low sodium" range for commercially sold beverages. The process adds about 750 milligrams of sodium to each gallon of water, which the U.S. (Every so often it is necessary to add a bag of sodium chloride salt to the softener unit to prepare this salty rinse water.)Įach cubic foot of resin can effectively remove calcium and magnesium from about 3,200 gallons of hard water, which the Water Quality Association defines as 10 grains per gallon hardness. The salty rinse water, calcium, and magnesium ions are flushed down the drain, and the system resumes normal operation. The high concentration of sodium ions in the salty water displaces the calcium and magnesium ions the resin, and the resin becomes once again covered with sodium ions. Every few days, the unit must renew the resin by rinsing it with a concentrated solution of saltwater (sodium chloride), usually in the middle of the night. Gradually, most of the sodium ions are released into the household water, and the resin becomes saturated with calcium and magnesium ions. This releases sodium ions into the water in order to maintain a balance of electrical charge on the resin. Normally, sodium positive ions coat the resin, but as water flows over the resin on its way to your sink or washer, the naturally occurring calcium and magnesium positive ions that exist in hard water stick to the resin. The unit contains several cubic feet of porous plastic resin covered with molecules that attract and bind to positive ions dissolved in the water. The water softener unit is located in your household plumbing near the place where water enters the house so that it softens the water used for drinking and washing but not for irrigation. Most manufacturers of water softeners recommend that you reduce the amount of soap and detergents you use after installing a water softener. It also helps soaps to give a "slippery" feel to your skin when you wash. The water-softening process thus helps detergents to more effectively remove dirt and oils from clothing and dishes. Calcium and magnesium ions interfere with the action of household soaps and detergents, but sodium does not. “A typical water-softening system removes calcium and magnesium ions from hard water and replaces them with sodium ions. Soft water is made possible by the cation resin in traditional water softeners which use an ion exchange process to displace calcium and magnesium ions from the water.Ĭhuck Wright, who is a chemistry professor at the University of Utah, wrote this in the Scientific American, almost 20 years ago, but the science is still the same: “Water that is free from dissolved salts of such metals as calcium, iron, or magnesium, which form insoluble deposits such as appear as scale in boilers or soap curds in bathtubs and laundry equipment.” The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines soft water as, It's unfortunate that salt-free water softeners don't really exist. NOTE: This is a 2023 update of a blog published in 2015.įor over a decade, marketing companies have been selling customers on the idea of salt-free water softeners.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |