How to soften water at home?

We can’t do without water in our life - we drink it, wash it, use it for hygienic procedures and cooking. Unfortunately, in most cases, the water from the pipeline has a very high rigidity, so everyone has to think about how to soften the water at home.

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Hard water - what is it and how to determine hardness?

Water hardness is a chemical definition that implies an increased content of magnesium and calcium salts in it. In order to know whether you need to soften the water in your home, determine its hardness. At home, this can be done using several methods.

Soap

Whether it is ordinary laundry or toilet soap, it foams if wet. But pay attention, if the soap foams poorly and very little in your water, then such water is hard. The same thing happens with powder. If the water is soft, there will be a lot of foam.

Important! This method does not give an accurate idea of ​​the hardness of the water in your water supply. But if you notice that your detergents do not foam well, it means that you should sound the alarm and check your water more carefully.

Scale

Another sure sign that water needs to be carefully checked is a persistent scale on appliances in which you boil water. Hard water often leads to equipment breakdowns.

Conductivity meter

A conductometer is a special device for measuring the electrical conductivity of water, often used by people who keep aquariums at home. The device itself does not measure hardness, but with the help of tables and readings of the conductometer you can calculate the hardness of the water in your home.

Express test

You can find stiffness indicators in stores that specialize in hospital products and other government agencies. Such tests allow you to quickly and accurately determine the hardness of the water.

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How to soften hard water?

So, you decided that this procedure is necessary for you, and the question: “How to soften hard water?” Has repeatedly visited your head. There are several methods for this and each is used for different purposes. Consider them.

Boiling

The easiest method to soften water is, of course, boiling. It is enough for you to boil the required amount of water and let it stand for 15 minutes, and after that - drain everything except the sediment. But what is important, the dishes in which you boil water will eventually have to be changed due to deposits that will appear on it.

Important! It is not advisable to water such flowers with water, since oxygen also leaves the salts during boiling.

Soda

Soda ash A good way to soften hard water to wash your hair.

When it is combined with salts, a reaction takes place in the water, which turns the harmful chemical compounds into insoluble, and this makes the water softer. To soften the water with soda, add 1-2 teaspoons of soda to the bucket and you will have soft water to use.

Reverse osmosis

This method of softening water is based on the fact that water passes through semipermeable membranes. They retain not only salts, but also viruses and bacteria are retained during filtration. The efficiency of water purification in this method is almost equal to 100%.

Important! The only drawback of such a system is that along with harmful substances, very useful ones are also removed from the water.

Emollient salts

This drug is available in tablet form and is used to preserve the service life of dishwashers. Such a tablet is placed inside the machine. The amount of the drug is determined by the degree of hardness of the water. Often in cars there is a built-in indicator that notifies you of the need to add a pill.

Filter jugs

Enough volumetric containers in the form of a jug with the presence of a cleaning cartridge with a filter element inside. Nowadays, this is the most affordable way to clean and soften water. In such jugs it is necessary to replace cartridges once every 1-2 months of use. The frequency of change depends on the hardness of the water and the number of family members.

Magnetic filter

Not a chemical way to soften hard water. The device consists of 2 magnets that create a magnetic field that helps soften. Also, such a filter is able to remove various impurities from the liquid.

Important! Since this method has been little studied regarding the effect of purified water on humans, it is used mainly only in boiler houses, where the result of this device is visible to the naked eye.

Ion exchange softeners

Such devices have 2 reservoirs in their design: one contains the ion-exchange resin, the other a saline solution. Water passing through the first tank is purified from salts, which give it rigidity, and passing through the second, it is saturated with sodium ions, which make the water softer.

Freezing

In order not to lose oxygen from the water, which is very necessary for such purposes as irrigation or watering flowers, freezing can be applied to it. But you have to completely control this process. Its essence lies in the fact that salts freeze at the very least.

To soften water in this way, do the following:

1. Type in a container of water.
2. Wait until it is almost freezing.
3. Drain any remaining frozen water.
4. Melt the ice.

That is the whole procedure. Softened water is ready for use.

Domestic water

You can soften water for domestic needs with the help of ammonia. Just add them along with cleaning products. This method does not remove salts from water, but does not allow them to combine with foam molecules. This greatly simplifies the foaming of cleaning products.

To soften hard water for the washing machine, special household products that are sold in household chemical stores will help you. A striking example of such a tool is Calgon.

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Helpful hints:

1. Softening the water leads to instant savings of detergents, which in turn will save you money. When using soft water, laundry detergents, you will need much less, as well as hygiene products.
2. Electricity consumption will also decrease significantly, as the above procedures will be faster and less frequent than before.
3. Soft water will save the life of your technique for a long time.
4. The disadvantage is that almost all ways to soften water require a monetary outlay. But they pay off by the fact that you then save thanks to soft water.

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Now, knowing how to soften water for different purposes, you can make your life a little easier by devoting your saved time and money to more necessary things. Follow our tips and enjoy the softness of the water in your water supply for a long time!