Softening water for your home in the optimal way with minimal investment. Water softener Softening reactions

" and "Chemical reagent methods of softening water" section "Water" and subsection " " we touched on the topic of combating hardness salts and scale. In previous articles we looked at the actual definition of the word "softening water" and considered that there are several methods of softening - physical, chemical, extrasensory. We also touched upon such reagent methods of water softening as ion exchange and the dosage of antiscalant agents (antiscale agents). In this article we offer you two subsections - a little about extrasensory methods and a little more about. physical methods water softening.

Psychic and physical methods of softening water are not fully studied and understood. This is probably why the extrasensory way of dealing with hard water is often confused with the physical way of fighting. And, accordingly, they lose money, time and faith in people. Both for the purchase of psychic gadgets and for the repair of equipment that they did not protect from scale. By the way, for a good understanding of the article, we recommend that you first study the materials of the articles “Hard water” and “”, where the basic definitions used in this article are given (such as water softening, scale, hardness, hardness salts, etc.)

Extrasensory ways to soften water.

So, extrasensory methods are easily confused with physical ones. About the same as the ganzfeld effect with magic. For example, water treatment magnetic field. This and quality method combating scale, and a useless extrasensory method of purifying and structuring water.

The difference between physical and extrasensory methods is very simple - if a thing costs little money (on average up to 100 USD), but it is promised that it will accomplish a whole lot of tasks (such as: purify the water of all substances, remove scale, improve health and give youth, structures, accelerates the growth of plants and hair, removes damage, etc.), then this is an extrasensory way of purifying water. We will not dwell on extrasensory methods in detail; they are described in various sources(for example, here), since they are only worth a hundredth of what was promised.

By the way, recently there has been a tendency for such softening structurers to become more expensive. So you can run into a very expensive fake, which is advertised as protection against scale. However, usually devices that can actually physically help with scale do not have additional structuring functions.

So, if you want to do extrasensory structuring, then you need to purchase special device. If you need to soften water physically, you need to purchase a special device. But not a complex. Although... As anyone likes :) And we will move on to physical methods of dealing with scale.

As mentioned earlier, there are several definitions of the term “water softening”, depending on the stage at which the impact occurs -

• at the stage of combating the causes of water hardness or
• at the stage of combating the consequences of use hard water.

Previous methods - ion exchange - are aimed at combating the causes of water hardness. That is, either calcium and magnesium salts are removed from the water, which leads to the creation of soft water.

Physical methods of water softening are aimed at coping with the consequences of hard water - scale.

Accordingly, physical softening methods do not imply soft water in the first sense (water without any hardness salts at all). The result of physical water softening is water that has retained all its hardness salts, but does not harm pipes and boilers - that is, does not form scale. However, after physical treatment, hard water changes its properties - and, as a result, ceases to form scale. That is, it ceases to be tough. And it becomes soft. Of course, if we were doing scientific research, we would introduce a difference in the terms “soft water”, that is, water in which there are no hardness salts in principle, and “softened water”, which does not form scale, but may contain hardness salts. However, these are terminological nuances that are not interesting to us. We actually need physical ways to soften water.

There are the following basic physical methods to combat scale:

1. Treatment of water with a magnetic field.
2. Water treatment electric field.
3. Ultrasound treatment of water.
4. Water treatment using low-current current pulses.
5. Thermal softening method (regular boiling of water).

And we will begin to gradually characterize physical methods of dealing with hard water. We may not cover everything at once in one article, but a series of articles will definitely include the characteristics of each method. Let's start with treating water with a magnetic field, since this type of physical fight against scale is most often confused with extrasensory softening of water.

Treatment of water with a magnetic field is a complex and controversial issue. Without going into details, we can say that effective physical softening of water using a magnetic field is possible only when it is possible to simultaneously take into account a huge number of factors. This:

1. magnetic field strength,
2. water flow speed,
3. water composition:
   • ionic (including the presence of iron and aluminum ions, which impair the physical treatment of water),
   • molecular (including large organic molecules, especially those with the ability to form complexes),
   • mechanical impurities (including rust),
   • ratio of para- and diamagnetic components,
   • dissolved oxygen and other gases,
   • the presence of nonequilibrium systems, etc.
4. water temperature during and after treatment,
5. processing time,
6. Atmosphere pressure,
7. water pressure,
8. etc.

All these and many other factors influence the effectiveness of magnetic water treatment. Thus, a slight change in the composition of water should be compensated by changes in the specified parameters (for example, water speed and magnetic field intensity). All changes must be monitored and responded to immediately, since the effectiveness of physical water softening using a magnetic field will change in an unknown direction.

But it is possible, and magnetic water treatment is successfully used in many boiler houses. First of all, this happens because in boiler rooms the constancy of most of the listed factors is observed - water flow, water composition, water temperature, pressure, etc.

However, this is almost NOT possible to repeat at home. And when you have a desire to buy a pipe magnet to save your home from scale, then think a lot, and first of all, think about whether you can organize not only the consistency of the indicators described above, but also find them optimal combination through experiments.

If not, then treating water using a magnetic field in the form of magnets is not for you, and you will get nothing except losing money on buying a magnet and on repairing equipment and pipes. Another way to put it is this: the probability that a pipe magnet will help you is less than 10%. That is, at home, a constant magnetic field approaches extrasensory water softening.

In order to compensate for the variability of water parameters during physical treatment, more modern methods physical softening - for example, using an electronic water softener.

Thus, do not confuse extrasensory methods of water softening, physical softening of a limited area of ​​action, and modern physical methods of water softening.

Which will be discussed in the sequel.

In one filter, the following are simultaneously removed from water: mechanical impurities, dissolved, colloidal and organic iron, manganese, natural organic compounds(humic and fulvic acids and their salts), hardness salts and heavy metals.

Price: from 32,900 rub.

We will find a solution for you!

According to statistics, 90% of water heating and plumbing equipment breaks down due to hard water. Scale forms, pipelines become clogged, water heaters lose power, and household appliances break down. High hardness is also dangerous for people. Sand and stones form in the organs, blood vessels and the heart suffer, the skin becomes dry, and dermatitis occurs. So that there are no accidents at home and health does not deteriorate, they produce water softening using filters.

Hardness is a property of water that depends on the content of calcium salts (Ca) in dissolved form and, in lower concentrations, silicon (Si lat. Silicium), magnesium (Mg).

• Carbonate
• Non-carbonate
• General

Carbonate is temporary. Easily removed by boiling. Determined by the presence of calcium and magnesium bicarbonates in the liquid. Chemical formula— Ca(НСО3)2; Mg(HCO3)2. Forms scale in hot water supply pipelines, in a kettle, on water heating elements of boilers and boilers.

Non-carbonate constant. Cannot be removed by boiling. It is caused by the presence of salts, which differ in properties from carbonate ones. These are mainly chlorides (CaCl2, MgCl2), sulfates (CaSO4, MgSO4).

Total hardness is the sum of the 1st and 2nd hardness. The final indicator of the content of all magnesium and calcium ions and compounds present in the liquid. Since 2014, updated standards have appeared, according to which this parameter is measured in degrees of hardness - °F = 1 mEq per liter. According to the total hardness of water:

• Hard - more than 10°F
• Medium hardness - 2-10
• Soft - up to 2

In Europe, the concentration standard is 2.5; in the Russian Federation - 7.

IN well water"hard" chemical compounds come from soluble rocks, which consist of dolomite, lime, gypsum. If the region is rich in these minerals, they will definitely be in the water. Needed water softener filter.

“Hard” salts gradually accumulate in the body. Vessels become clogged. The heart suffers. Stones appear in the kidneys and other organs and cavities of the body. Urolithiasis occurs. Drinking water with high hardness causes serious harm to health. Besides:

• Scale formed on heaters and inside heating radiators reduces heat transfer
• Detergents produce little foam. Consumption household chemicals increases by 60%
• Dishes take longer to prepare. Meat remains tough after cooking
• 1 millimeter of scale increases power consumption by 10%
• Leads to overheating of heating elements. Causes 90% of water heater failures

Hard water makes things worse appearance. The skin dries out and peels. Dermatitis, acne, and redness appear. The hair is not washed, looks untidy, and becomes unruly. Plaque forms on the teeth.

Hard water is dangerous for newborns. Increases the likelihood of eczema and atopic dermatitis with constant use, bathing. Symptoms appear as early as 3 months. Eczema causes autoimmune allergies and then food allergies and asthma.

The best protection is to buy and install water softening filter. Water treatment and purification devices soften well and make household water suitable for drinking and household use.

Strong magnets are also used in water treatment. The liquid is passed through a powerful magnetic field. As a result, the water changes physical characteristics, dissolved impurities lose their ability to form salts, and, consequently, scale. In addition, magnetized water destroys and removes already deposited layers of scale. The technology is effective at low contents of calcium, silicon, and magnesium ions.

The liquid is exposed to a highly charged electric field using special membranes. Hardness ions and some other substances are removed. The technology is used for desalination sea ​​water in industrial quantities, in production table salt and for water preparation in thermal power plants.

Made using reagents. Use slaked lime Ca(OH)2, sodium orthophosphate Na3PO4 or soda ash Na2CO3. When interacting with the reagent, hardness salts become insoluble, settle to the bottom and are easily filtered out. This technology is justified when purifying large volumes of liquid. During application, a number of specific technological problems arise. An accurate dosage of the chemical reagent is needed.

The technology refers to reagent softening methods. For water purification, granular filter beds are used, mainly ion exchange resins, which are loaded into water softening filters. When interacting with resin granules, ions of “hard” compounds, as well as iron and manganese, are captured from the liquid. Depending on the type of filter material, sodium, potassium or hydrogen ions are formed during the ion exchange process. With a properly selected load, it is possible to reduce hardness to 0.1-0.01°F even with ultra-high mineralization.

Advantages of ion exchange filters:

• Price is 20-50% lower
• Universal. Suitable for cottages, country houses, city apartments. They are placed on wells, wells, and cut into city water supply pipelines
• Productive. Removes hardness, iron, excess minerals, manganese, organic compounds and other contaminants with one can
• Eliminates ultra-high concentrations of iron - up to 30 mg

Over time, the resins become clogged with contaminants retained chemical bonds, and stop softening the water. However, the ion exchange reaction is reversible. If you pass a solution of table salt through the resin, the impurities will separate, and the sodium contained in the salt will occupy the resulting voids. The separated pollutants are washed into the drain. The updated resin again efficiently cleans and softens water.

Hard water is characterized by a high content of minerals - most often magnesium and calcium. They form deposits, which subsequently clog the drain, leave a residue on the tiles, and prevent the soap from foaming normally. It does not pose a threat to life or health, but it does cause some inconvenience. In this article we will reveal the essence of the concept of hard water and talk about ways to soften it.

Hard water is water that contains a large number of calcium and magnesium salts. Additionally, silicates, phosphates, chlorides and other toxic compounds can be found in it. Some of them completely decompose when boiled, others can remain unchanged for a long time.

Why hard water is harmful to health and household appliances

Scale in the kettle, a characteristic deposit on the walls of washing machines and other household appliances, clothing that has lost its original brightness of color after washing – delivers to modern man There are a lot of inconveniences, so he strives to soften it. I don’t like this liquid and my skin, hair, internal organs– the kidneys and liver are especially affected.

Increased water hardness reduces the taste and digestibility of food, and can cause the development of urolithiasis, problems with the liver, and even the heart. But it has nothing to do with the presence of worms in the body.

Optimal water hardness, how to determine water hardness at home

Before you begin to take measures aimed at softening too hard water, determine the salt content and hardness level of the liquid yourself. This can be done in special services, and then checked with current standards. Don't want to go anywhere? In this case, you should be wary of scale on the internal parts. household appliances, low amount of soap foam, dry skin and hair. The taste may vary, but this is not a prerequisite.

How to soften hard water at home: 8 surefire ways

Basic ways to soften hard water:

1. Boiling followed by settling.
2. Adding to washing machine soda or lime. A more modern alternative is a special powder.
3. Softening with ammonia - just keep in mind that concentrated undiluted products are available for sale (read the instructions!).
4. Using a filter jug ​​from Aquaphor.
5. Installing a household carbon filter on a tap or water supply.
6. Installation of the Aquaphor cleaning system - it replaces magnesium and calcium ions with sodium ions.
7. Installation of a special mechanical cleaning device at the pipeline inlet.
8. Application of a magnetic softener.

Domestic water

Soda ash and baking soda effectively neutralize salts - water purified by this method can be used for drinking purposes. Baking soda It is completely harmless and does not dry out the skin, so it is added to the water for washing. The calcined variety is more aggressive and gives a pronounced whitening effect, so it can be used for washing clothes.

How to soften hard water at home from a well or well

To soften water from wells and wells, the same methods are used that are used to soften ordinary tap liquid:

• thermal (boiling);
• reagent - with the addition chemical substances of different origins, which, when interacting with hardness salts, bind them;
• using filters (magnetic, membrane, ion exchange, electromagnetic);
• folk ways.

Each option has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. When choosing, focus on current hardness indicators, available budget and desired water treatment speed.

Methods for cleaning and softening water at home

If you want to not only soften, but also purify the water, use any of the following options:

• filter jug;
• ion exchange filter;
• membrane filter;
• magnetic filter softener;
• electromagnetic wave method.

Also used traditional methods– settling, saturation with silicon, partial freezing, mixing, adding a decoction of flaxseeds, herbs or peat.

Filters and their varieties

On sale you can find the following types filters:

What is better: regular softening or complete water filtration?

The softening filter does not always provide desired results– in some cases, complete filtration is required. The purification system removes calcium elements and some salts (partially), while complete filtration allows you to get rid of all chemical impurities and change the metal composition, remove salts. At the same time, it may be accompanied by softening and mineralization. If everything is done right, tap water will have a good smell and a pleasant taste.

Magnetic filter or special salts: choosing an alternative

Special salts give a good effect, but do not forget to follow the dosage for each substance. You will also have to ensure their constant availability and appropriate storage conditions - and this extra space, additional expenses and troubles. At the same time, it is not always possible to use water softened with the help of reagents for cooking and drinking.

What is a magnetic filter? Device of two powerful magnets that create strong field– it attracts metal particles. When water passes through such an element, it becomes softer. Chemicals are not used, but the effect of water charged with a magnetic field on the human body has also not yet been studied.

How to soften hard water in an aquarium at home?

The water in the aquarium requires mandatory softening. At home, you can reduce hardness in the following ways:

1. Boil, cool and pour into the aquarium.
2. Distill, but remember that a deficiency of beneficial microelements is harmful not only to humans, but also to fish.
3. – pour the water into a container and place it in the freezer. When half of the liquid is frozen, pour out the part that is not frozen, and remove the ice from the refrigerator and melt it. This liquid is ideal for fish.
4. Purify water using a reverse osmosis filter - it is installed in the room and connected directly to the water supply.

The most effective and expensive way is reverse osmosis. It makes sense to use it for large-volume aquariums.

Good to know

• Water softening leads to noticeable savings detergents, because they foam better when soft. It's about not only about soap, but also about washing powder, toothpaste, etc.
• Electricity consumption can also be reduced since you will be doing laundry and cleaning less often.
• Life of household appliances and water pipes Soft water will also significantly prolong it.
• Moreover, the use of any softening method requires certain investments, which do not always pay off.

One of the difficult problems to solve today is bad water. Its mass use implies the mandatory use of good quality water, but in reality, water of a completely different quality is used in kitchens and bathrooms. Centralized system Water purification company supplies enterprises and private use with water with a high hardness threshold.

What to do with limescale?

So, there are the initial data. Water flows into the house and apartment Low quality. Here the consumer may object that poor quality water it can not be. It was approved for use in accordance with GOSTs and Sanitary Regulations, which means that some kind of rigidity there is almost a myth. Yes, when working with such water, harmful deposits form. But it is quite possible to eliminate it on your own, by regular cleanings. In enterprises, ineffective ones turn into large expense items and this logic does not work there.

At the same time, hardness, as an excess of a certain norm for the content of calcium and magnesium in water, or rather their salts, can be different. And the harm from such water will also vary. The division by type of liming is presented in the table.

Anything above the seven level can cause harm, and not a little. Methods of water softening It was precisely for such cases that they were developed.

To the main negative consequences hardness include:

• A sharp increase in the consumption of fuel and detergents and water itself;
• Formation of heat-blocking scale;
• Equipment breakdowns;
• Negative influence on the quality of washing

Is it possible to confuse the work of hardness with other impurities? On initial stages, while there is no scale yet or it is very thin, you can. Until a dense sediment forms, limescale can be mistaken for an abundance of chlorine in the water.

On large industrial enterprises Where drinking water is produced or water is constantly worked with, hardness manifests itself immediately. There are rules that cannot be broken. Because the layer of scale in the boiler should not exceed half a millimeter. Where do such restrictions come from? All this is directly related to the characteristics of limestone as a material.

When it settles on the surface, the transfer of heat to the water practically stops. Lime works as an effective blocker. And the denser it is, the worse the heat transfer. When the scale reaches the state of gypsum, heat transfer stops almost completely. Is it true, a heating element in this case it will burn out earlier. The aspect is that the energy does not leave the metal; it continues to heat it up until it changes. That is, it either won’t explode or won’t melt. In industries, they started with such consequences long haul searches suitable ways water softening.

This whole bouquet can be avoided, as you know, by constant cleaning and rinsing, or by developing and installing a cleaning system. The first solution to the problem is still used, but only where it is not yet possible to install progressive softening equipment, or even just softening equipment.

Surface cleaning is very popular among the population. More precisely, even among those layers who do not actually deal with them, but believe that they are clearly cheaper than two softening devices for an apartment. But any cleaning will leave marks behind. Both the brush and the acid clean the surfaces along with the scale. Because of this, the equipment will last less, and cleaning will only become more frequent in the future.

Moreover, at the enterprise, such cleanings look like preventative and major ones. The latter are carried out no more than twice during the entire operation of the equipment. Such a major cleaning involves complete disassembly of the equipment. Particularly contaminated surfaces are soaked in acidic solutions, where old residues are loosened and only then mechanical cleaning is carried out. Moreover, the soaking stage can last several hours. Such disassemblies mean downtime and entail lost profits. With the use of softening units, major cleanings become a thing of the past. Even with very hard water, it is enough to rinse the system with a reverse flow of water to remove light suspensions into which hardness salts turn.

Methods for softening hard water - instructions for use

In order not to spend huge amounts of money on cleaning, and not to constantly purchase solutions to soften water or remove scale, various effective and ineffective ways to soften hard water have been created. Their task is different, but to rid the water of excess hardness salts. If they are eliminated, scale deposits will not form in the water.

All this can be done using two directions. You can soften water by adding some special softening agents to it, or you can irradiate the water. All softening units today are divided according to this principle. If you want to get soft water, create some new substance that will not settle on the surface and is easily filtered, or act on the water with some natural force.

Reagent softeners are generally divided into two types. These are disinfectants, very similar to disinfectants for disinfection, and cationic softeners. The first ones work on the simplest principle - we add a softener to the water, it becomes softer.

The latter work on the metabolic process. The exchange cartridge is filled with cationic resin. It should be considered, and it is very effective. It contains a large amount of sodium. When in contact with hardness salts, sodium and salts change places. The consumer receives already softened water. But the cartridge will quickly become unusable. The sodium will be all washed out and will need to be replaced. In industrial production processes cartridges are restored by washing with a strong saline solution. For personal consumption and production drinking water the cartridge is changed.

When it is restored, very harmful waste is generated, which not only needs to be cleaned up, but permission must also be obtained in order to be discharged into the atmosphere. And the cartridges themselves will have to be changed over time. Such softening with initial small investments turns out to be expensive in the future. But it guarantees good quality directly softening. And to improve the quality of softening, you can run the water through the installation again.

A disinfectant involves simply injecting special substances into the water that soften the water. Such a device crashes into a pipe. It has a control unit where the frequency, time and volume of supply of softening agents are set. Here, the electrical conductivity of water is constantly measured in order to understand hard water or not. Control is ongoing. Thus, the influence of the human factor is reduced significantly.

Second group effective ways softening hard water refers to reagent-free. Prominent representatives from magnet to electrical impulses. Electromagnets are most commonly used today. Small, problem-free, they guarantee not only soft water in the system. With their help, you can get rid of old scale traces anywhere in the system, without completely disassembling the installation. Moreover, the device will operate economically, only about five kilowatts of electricity per month. There are no replaceable cartridges, so you don’t need to monitor the condition or update. True, such a device does not provide the quality of drinking water, but for servicing all the water in an apartment or in a boiler room, for example, it is simply irreplaceable.

There are still some limitations in his work. It does not work with water without movement and does not give drinking quality. Its effect does not last long.

Another group of effective methods for softening hard water relates to fine cleaning. Such devices remove almost all organic impurities from water. These include ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration. The main impact in such systems is taken by the membrane. It is the most expensive in the device and the most sensitive. Water cannot be passed through it without preparation. Hence the high cost. True, such devices often remove too much from the water, which also limits, but not greatly, their use.