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On a daily basis, we speak to people who are interested in how a water softener works, as they undoubtedly have read, saw and heard lots of conflicting and different stories on how water softeners work.
The purpose of this blog article is to briefly cover the basics of the water softening process and explain, in simple terms, how limescale is removed from hard water.
Over the course of the next few blog posts, we will go into greater detail about EWT water softeners and the process of water softening. If you have any ideas/questions, on the subject of water softeners, hard water and soft water, that would be useful for us to blog about, please comment below and we will do so!.
| The map on the right shows hard water areas in the UK. In these areas you will notice the visual damage that limescale causes to your kettle, shower screens, taps and more. In these areas, an EWT water softener will remove 100% of limescale from your water forever! |
Hard Water Areas in the UK |
Water Softeners Turn Hard Water into Soft Water
The job of the water softener is to remove the hardness-causing minerals from your water supply using a process which is called an ion exchange. Inside a water softener, there is a tank that is full of resin; this resin carries a negative charge (-) and has sodium minerals attached to it. In hard water, the hardness-causing minerals (calcium and magnesium) carry a positive charge (++).
As the hard water passes through the resin bed in the water softener, the resin exchanges the sodium ions it is carrying for the hardness ions found in the hard water. This exchange means that the water leaving the water softener will be completely free from limescale!
What happens to the resin in the water softener?
After time, the resin in the water softener will need to be cleaned of the hardness-causing minerals it has gathered so, a process called regeneration occurs. During regeneration, a brine solution (made from water and salt which is added into a water softener) is passed through the resin, when this happens the resin then exchanges the hardness minerals for sodium minerals leaving the resin ready to work again. This is all done automatically by our EWT Water Softeners, leaving you to enjoy the benefits of soft water!
As always, if there are any questions to be asked, please leave a comment below and we will answer all your queries, ASAP!
