In an age of water scarcity and shortages, it helps to know how to convert hard water to soft water at home so you can run your household in any situation.
With Indian cities facing a water crisis and many homes facing water shortages, water tankers supplying housing societies with water have become a common sight.
In India, water scarcity has many causes, both natural and human-made. While poor water management and waste are the major causes, urbanization has also contributed to water depletion as cities displace wetlands, lakes and other water bodies that recharge the water table.
Rainwater harvesting recharges the water table and increases groundwater availability, but it may not come soon enough for many cities as India faces its ‘worst’ water crisis in history, with about 2 lakh people dying every year due to inadequate access to safe water.
Studies indicate that the demand for potable water is expected to outstrip supply by 2030 and 21 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad will run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting 100 million people. In 2019, Chennai was the first major city in the country to face a severe water shortage.
Today, thousands of housing societies in cities are forced to buy water from private tankers as the government cannot cater to their needs. Many of these private tankers tap into groundwater from borewells as a source of water. This results in most households being supplied with hard water.
What Is Hard Water?
Hard water is water that has a high content of minerals like calcium and magnesium. Although it makes it difficult for soap to lather and causes brittle hard water hair, drinking hard water is not harmful to the human body as it provides much-needed minerals and can actually prevent disease.
On the other hand, soft water produces more lather, and reduces soap and water consumption, and also prevents scaling and corrosion on your bathroom fittings and appliances. Learn the basics about hard and soft water and the differences between them in the video here.
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However, hard water wastes soap and detergents, and leaves a residue on fabrics, making them appear dull and yellow and making them brittle. It also leaves a residue of soap scum on dishes, glassware, and sinks, making cleaning difficult.
Even worse, it can damage plumbing, washing machines, water heaters, and other household appliances because it causes scale buildup in pipes, clogs hot water pipes and causes water heaters to work less efficiently and consume more energy.
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How To Make Hard Water Soft
One of the primary concerns of homeowners is how to make hard water soft. You can use vinegar and baking soda to remove stains caused by hard water in sinks and on glassware.
However, if you want to protect appliances like your washing machine, boiler and hot water heater from hard water problems, you’ll understand the benefits of water softener solutions that work in the long term.
Any long-term hard water treatment solution must use home water treatment systems that convert hard water to soft water.
Want to know how to soften hard water naturally? Temporary hardness caused by carbonate, can be removed by boiling water, but this is expensive, consumes a lot of energy and doesn’t work for all forms of hardness.
If you’re looking for the best home water softener for home water treatment, this article will explain how a water softener works, and introduce you to various types of water softeners and hard water treatment systems.
What Is A Water Softener?
A water softener is a device that uses the most popular water softening methods of replacing calcium and/or magnesium in the water with sodium using an ion-exchange water softener for home use.
What does a water softener do and how does a water softener work? This video explains how to soften water using an ion-exchange hard water softener for home.
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However, there are some downsides with a salt-based hard water softener system, the primary one being that not everyone likes drinking softened water as it contains sodium and the ion exchange water softener is more expensive.
HUL Pureit Copper+ RO water purifier provides advanced 7-stage purification and its unique proprietary Copper Charge Technology(TM) charges it with the goodness of copper. Copper-infused water has anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties.
If using a potassium chloride water softener is not an option and you want to use soft water for drinking, a reverse osmosis water softener that can remove the sodium or potassium after the water softening process, as well as any water-borne contaminants, maybe the best water softener for you.
Besides the fact that the water softener cost is higher, the water softener resin also requires large amounts of water for water softener regeneration and discharges water softener salt which may contaminate the environment.
An automatic water softener like KENT Bathroom Water Softener can save you money, in the long run. It converts hard water to soft water that prevents sticky hair after washing & hair loss, prevents dry & itchy skin after bathing.
The easy 2-step regeneration process does not require any technician or special salts and it does not require any electric connections or pressurized water for operation. It is easy to install and operate and the compact design lets you place the softener even in small spaces.
If the domestic water softener prices are causing you to hesitate, instead of installing a whole-house water softener, you can install a separate water softener for the bathroom, a water softener for the washing machine, and a water softener for showers.
An inexpensive alternative to getting a water softener plant for home is to buy a portable water softener like the D’Cal Hard Water Softener. This compact water softener for the home in India is perfect for independent houses with an overhead of tank size up to 2000 litres.
This hard water filter is very simple to use and lasts for 1 year. The best thing about this water softener for the water tank is that you only need to hang or drop it in your overhead tank and it will convert your hard water to soft water.
If you’re looking for the best water softener for well water in your home, this is probably the best solution for you.
If you’re experiencing itchy skin, flaky dandruff, eczema, bone-dry hair and brittle nails because of chlorinated and chemical-ridden water, you should install a water purifier for hard water in your shower.
A hard water purifier like the Caresmith SIFT+ shower filter can help reduce hair fall, protect your skin and remove bad odours from your shower water, and replacement cartridges for this water softener filter are easily available too.
A water hardness test kit can help you measure total hardness on the water hardness scale and monitor the efficiency of your water filter for hard water and water softening processes.
What Is A Water Conditioner?
A salt-free water softener alternative to an expensive water softener plant is the electronic water conditioner or electromagnetic water softener. The benefit of a water softener without salt is that it’s much less expensive and has low water softener maintenance costs.
The magnetic water softener is a device that creates an electric field around the pipes altering the ions in hard water so that they lose their ability to stick to the piping and are washed out.
This video explains the difference between the water softener and no-salt water softener or magnetic water conditioner. Watch it and decide whether the best hard water to soft water converter for you is the water conditioning system or domestic water softener.
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The Eddy Water Descalers Electronic Water Softener is easy for anyone to fit, requires no plumbing changes, and does not require any salt like a conventional salt-fed water softener.
This home water conditioner produces an electro-magnetic wave applied through two coils placed around your water supply pipe, subjecting it to an ever-changing magnetic field as it passes through the coils.
This alters the adhesion properties of the limescale so that it no longer deposits itself inside pipes and appliances. The Eddy Water Descalers Electronic Water Softener does not alter the chemical hardness of the water so the beneficial effects of the calcium and other particulates are retained.
Whether you’re looking for a cheap water softener for home use or a commercial water softener, this introduction to water softener technology will help you buy water softeners that are right for your needs.
Now that you know how to treat hard water using water softener treatment systems, water softener machines and water softening equipment, you can choose the best hard water softener to protect your hair, skin and home appliances from hard water problems.
About the author:
Priya Florence Shah is the Group Editor at SHEROES and author of Devi2Diva, an emotional self-care book for women.
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