How to quickly soften tap water. How to competently organize the process of water softening in a private house: we choose a technology and a constructive solution

Tap water is often too hard, which causes many problems, from an unpleasant taste to the failure of household appliances and utensils in which such a liquid is heated. What to do in such cases? How to soften water at home?

First of all, you need to understand what it is and why it needs to be softened. It is characterized by a high content of magnesium and calcium salts. Groundwater is saturated with them in abundance in the process of passing through layers of calcareous rocks. Of course, such water does not pose any particular problems to the health of the body, but it causes many inconveniences in everyday life:

• Significantly reduces the service life of clothing, as it violates its color and negatively affects the structure of fabrics.
• Reduces the effectiveness of soaps and detergents.
• Droplets of hard water leave behind whitish circles on glassware.
• Hair washed in hard water becomes excessively brittle and looks like
• It is unpleasant to bathe and wash in it.
• Over time, a thick layer of scale forms on the heating elements of household appliances and on the walls of the kettle and pans.

In order to prevent such problems, you need to know how to soften water for domestic use. There are several basic ways to deal with this problem.

Magnetic devices. Manufacturers of such devices assure that this is an excellent non-chemical method that can significantly soften hard water. For the impact, a magnetic field is used, to create which an installation is made from a pair of magnets. It is understood that this helps to remove various impurities from the liquid, as well as magnesium and calcium ions. The magnets must be located outside on the water pipe.

In fact, this kind of softeners can hardly be considered an effective remedy. The only place where they are appropriate is pipes located in boiler rooms, since under the influence of a magnetic field, deposits in them become looser and easier to remove.

Shower heads. Manufacturers claim that they saturate the water with vitamin C, flavor it, remove residual chlorine and soften it. They also attribute truly fantastic properties to their devices, in particular, cutting water consumption by half due to the fact that the design provides for a reduction in splashing. They also promise to increase the speed and almost twice.

It is clear that such a tool is unlikely to cope with the task, but at least it will not harm.

Pitcher filters. They are plastic containers. Inside it is a filter element. This method of water purification and softening is the simplest and cheapest. The only "but" is that it is necessary to periodically change the cartridge for more efficient filter operation. Especially for water softening, devices based on activated carbon have been developed.

Ion exchange softeners. As many people know, washing machines and dishwashers most often fail due to hard water. How to soften water for them? The use of ion exchangers is recommended. Devices of this type are two reservoirs. In one is and in the second saline solution. First, water passes through the first resin reservoir, whereby resin ions react with magnesium and calcium salts to remove them. Then the water is driven through the second (with saline), where the lack of ions is replaced by sodium ions. Such a magnetic exchange allows you to soften the hardness of the water.

Reverse osmosis. It is considered the most reliable way to solve the problem "how to soften water?". This method is based on the property of water, due to which it passes through a semi-permeable membrane from a concentrated solution to a less concentrated one under the influence of a pressure that exceeds the osmotic difference for each of the solutions. This allows impurities to be retained in the solution. The quality of the water obtained is quite high and as close as possible to pure water.

The disadvantage of this system is that it removes not only harmful impurities, but also useful ones.

softening salts. The use of such a tool is a prerequisite for the use of many dishwashers. It does not allow scale to spoil the dishwasher mechanism and is available in the form of tablets. The amount of the product directly depends on the hardness of the water. Most devices have a built-in indicator that tells you when it's time to add salt.

The last way to solve the question "how to soften hard water?" − thermal. It involves the distillation, heating or freezing of water. It is believed that the best remedy in the fight for the purity and usefulness of the liquid is melt water. Make it very easy. To do this, you need to take water and pour it into a wide container, for example, into a saucepan. Refrigerate or put in the freezer. When a small layer of ice forms on top, it is removed, as “solid” harmful substances are concentrated in it. The remaining water continues to freeze. When most of it freezes, you need to remove the ice, and pour out the rest. Then the mass gradually melts and pure, soft water is obtained.

Now that you know how to soften water, you just have to choose the best remedy for yourself, and never again suffer from its increased hardness.

Hard water is an invariable companion of the life of an urban person. How to soften the water in the aquarium, in the washing machine and dishwasher? What can be done to make water suitable for use in household appliances?

Hard water - what is it?

Hard water is water that contains large amounts of magnesium and calcium salts. It is these elements that determine the properties of the liquid flowing from the tap in our home. In addition, chlorides, silicates, phosphates and other compounds can be found in such water. Some of them decompose when boiled, others remain unchanged for a long time. The hardness of water is largely determined by the location of the settlement and the presence of various calcareous rocks in the soil. Why does every housewife strive at all costs to make the water softer?

Lime scale on the kettle, sediment on the walls of the washing machine and other household appliances are all consequences of using hard water at home. Such water gives a person a lot of domestic inconvenience. The effectiveness of various detergents noticeably decreases, because in hard water they are simply not able to work at full strength. Clothes after washing lose color and softness, and their service life is shortened. A thick layer of scale on the heating elements and white stains on the dishes make housewives look for ways to soften tap water. But is it only domestic troubles that are the reason?

Hard water is a source of serious health problems. It makes hair dry and brittle, tightens the skin, accelerating its aging. The ingress of such water into the internal organs can cause diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract. The liver also suffers, taking on a large load on the processing of incoming fluid, as well as large vessels. What can be done to soften tap water?

7 Ways to Soften Water

• Method number 1. Boiling

To make water softer at home, you can use ordinary boiling. One problem: along with harmful calcium and magnesium salts, numerous useful compounds also evaporate. In addition, with constant boiling of hard water, the dishes quickly fail.

• Method #2.

This method of softening hard water has been known since ancient Greece. In those distant times, the housewives used the ashes from the hearth and thereby changed the properties of the water. Today, it is enough just to add soda ash to the liquid - and the water will become noticeably softer. 2 teaspoons of soda should be carefully placed in 10 liters of water and be sure to wait for the formation of sediment.

• Method number 3. Emollient salts

Special softening salts are suitable for changing the properties of the liquid used in dishwashers. This tool is available in the form of tablets and makes the water softer. The use of softening salts not only favorably affects the condition of the dishes, but also significantly increases the life of the dishwasher.

Pay attention to the dishwasher indicator - it will tell you when you need to add softening salt.

• Method number 4. Filter jugs

One of the most popular ways to quickly make water soft at home. Such a filter is a container in the form of a jug, inside of which a special filter cartridge is fixed. By installing a filter at home, you can easily achieve water softening. This method is simple and affordable, but the relative cheapness of the device eventually plays against it. The filter jug ​​works on average no more than 1.5 months, after which a mandatory replacement of the cartridge is required.

• Method number 5. Magnetic filter

The method is based on softening tap water using two magnets. These devices create a special magnetic field, which should make the liquid softer. Also, this original device allows you to remove various harmful impurities. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to find out how useful such purified water is. Basically, the magnetic filter is used in boiler rooms.

• Method number 6. Ion exchange filter

How to soften hard water at home with an ion exchange filter? To do this, you need to purchase a device consisting of two tanks. An ion exchange resin is placed in one container, while a saline solution is placed in the other. Such a filter passes running water through itself, sending it to the resin tank. The liquid is saturated with ions, after which it enters the salt solution. Here, a reaction occurs with magnesium and calcium salts, which are gradually removed from the water. The filter replaces calcium and magnesium ions with sodium, which makes the passing fluid softer.

• Method number 7. Reverse osmosis

The reverse osmosis system is recognized as one of the most effective methods of softening running water. The device is a filter containing a special membrane. Purification and softening of water occurs due to the difference in osmotic pressure. The liquid, passing through the membrane from one solution to another, gradually gets rid of magnesium and calcium salts. The only negative: such a scheme eliminates not only harmful salts, but also various useful substances, therefore it cannot be used to purify drinking water.

How to soften the water in the aquarium?

Water softening in an aquarium with fish deserves special attention. It is known that many inhabitants of the river bottom prefer to breed only in soft water. How can you soften the water in the aquarium at home?

• Boiling

The most famous way to make the space in the aquarium fit for fish. When changing water, it should first be boiled and cooled, then poured into the aquarium by 2/3. In this case, the sediment from the bottom should not rise, because it is there that calcium and magnesium salts fall out.

• Distillate

You can also use distillate when changing water. It should be remembered that this tool not only cleanses the liquid of harmful salts, but also reduces the amount of nutrients. Micronutrient deficiencies can be detrimental to aquarium inhabitants, so this method should be used very carefully.

• Freezing

This simple method is available to any aquarist. The used water should simply be poured into a container and left in the freezer for a while. When half of the water freezes, it should be poured out and the ice removed from the refrigerator. The ice will melt and it can be used to fill the aquarium.

• Reverse osmosis

Many aquarium fish lovers prefer to use a reverse osmosis filter at home. The device is installed in the room and connected directly to the water supply. This method is undoubtedly the most convenient, but also quite expensive. The use of such filters is justified in large aquariums.

A well on your own land seems to be the solution to many problems. Water from it will cover household and drinking needs, and will undoubtedly be cleaner, tastier, more useful than that which flows from a centralized water supply. Is it so? At the depth of the well and well, there can also be unpleasant surprises. One of them is too hard water. Using it is not only unpleasant, but also harmful. Therefore, before people faced with such a problem, the question arises of how to soften hard water from a well. There are different ways to do this.

Hard water is usually called water in which there are too many salts of calcium and magnesium. They can be in the form of chlorides, sulfates, bicarbonates. Depending on their predominance, permanent and temporary stiffness are distinguished. The composition of water of the first type includes mainly chlorides and sulfates. They do not disintegrate under the influence of external influences - for example, boiling, do not settle. As a result, water indicators remain unchanged. To eliminate this shortcoming, special conditioning methods are required.

Temporary rigidity makes the presence of bicarbonates. Getting rid of them is much easier. For example, these compounds disappear on boiling. The problem of temporary stiffness occurs in 95% of all cases. According to the degree of severity, water is distinguished from very soft to very hard.

It is believed that having an artesian well means not having any problems with water. However, this is unfortunately not the case. Drilling a well is not a guarantee of normal rigidity. The moisture here is protected from pollution by sewage, agricultural fertilizers, industrial discharges and is stable in composition. While well water can change throughout the year, artesian water stays the same.

It is not possible pollution that makes hard water. This indicator depends on the composition of the soil through which moisture passes. So, the softest is in sandy soil, and the hardest is in calcareous soil.

This indicator is increased by deposits of gypsum, dolomite, from which salts of alkaline earth metals seep into the water. And these deposits can be located just where, as a result of drilling, a well is equipped or a well is dug.

How hard water affects life and health

Both too soft and too hard water can harm a person. This is exactly the case when the golden mean is good. Both extremes contribute to the destruction of pipes, plumbing, household appliances. Since the hard one ceases to be such during the boiling process, all salts in the form of scale settle on household appliances (kettles, dishwashers, washing machines, etc.) from the inside. This worsens the thermal conductivity of the device, more time is required for heating. The more often you have to boil water, the worse it is for the device.

Scale, a specific coating on parts of household appliances, on pipes, mixers leads to their corrosion, destruction, clogs connecting nodes, filters. All this leads to a rapid breakdown of equipment. And that means unnecessary unforeseen expenses. Indeed, with such water, either repair or replacement of equipment will often be required.

In addition, white stains appear on tiles, plumbing, and washed linen. It generally does not wash well, it becomes rough to the touch. With such water, detergents foam worse, whether it is washing powder or shower gel. As a result, they need more, there is an overspending.

Water with increased hardness completely dissolves the skin's protective fat, which leads to drying of the skin, a feeling of tightness after washing. With constant bathing in such conditions, skin problems arise, the hair becomes dry, brittle, unpleasant to the touch.

If you drink it, not softened by anything, it is fraught with problems with the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, blood vessels, joints. Salts are deposited in parts of the body in the same way as in the nodes of household equipment. The use of such a liquid harms pets, aquarium fish, indoor and garden plants. Therefore, water softeners are not a whim, but a vital necessity.

07/06/2018 1 1 848 views

In urban apartments, tap water can hardly be called soft. It contains too much iron, calcium and magnesium salts. Consider how to soften hard water at home. It has a bad effect on the condition of the hair, nails, skin. Also, because of such a liquid, household appliances and equipment deteriorate.

Rigidity depends on the region of residence and the presence of limestone rocks in the ground. It manifests itself in sediment on the washing machine, scale on the kettle. Detergents will not help to work at full strength in such water. The liver, urinary tract suffer, kidney diseases appear. There are many methods for softening liquids that should be explored.

What causes hard water?

Water hardness increases due to excessive amounts of calcium and magnesium salts, iron. It is measured in mg. equiv. / l and mol / cu. m. The phenomenon occurs due to groundwater, where there are many salts of chemical elements.

To determine the level of hardness, a conductometer should be used. This is a special device used to measure the electrical conductivity parameter. An increased indicator indicates an excessive amount of metal salts in the liquid.

When boiling from chemical salts, a sedimentary mass appears. A significant amount of compounds penetrates the body, settles on household appliances.

The main options for reducing the hardness of tap water:

• boiling;
• freezing;
• use of reagents;
• use of softening filters.

Heat treatment is the easiest method. Under the influence of high temperatures, the ionic bonds of chemical elements are destroyed, and a precipitate appears. Then such a liquid is allowed to be added to drinks and used for household chores.

1. Fill the kettle with water, wait for it to boil.
2. Cool to a slightly warm temperature, pour into a new dish.

The most complicated option is the hourly boiling of the liquid and the subsequent daily settling. With the help of heat treatment, vapors of carbon dioxide, chloride compounds, metal salts, and mechanical impurities disappear.

Boiling is very common and not difficult, but this method has disadvantages:

• the rapid appearance of limescale, which is difficult to remove;
• not used for the care of indoor flowers;
• possible deterioration of the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
• change in organoleptic characteristics.

It will be possible to reduce the level of rigidity with the help of freezing. The method is based on the effect of low temperatures on the salts of chemical elements with the appearance of crystals. The liquid softens slowly without changing its structure.

1. Pour water into a bowl, put in the freezer.
2. After freezing more than 50% of the liquid, get rid of the sediment, because harmful elements accumulate in it.
3. After thawing, the water becomes drinkable, it is allowed to use it for cooking, watering plants, processing clothes made of delicate materials.

The main disadvantage of the method is the difficult preparation of a significant amount of thawed liquid.

Mitigation with reagents is an effective option for eliminating metal salts. The following means are used:

• Baking soda. It reduces acidity and the amount of salts. To process clothes, you need 2 tsp. for 11 liters, for cooking - 1 tsp. for 3 l.

• Ash (acoustic) soda. It is used to soften water, which is used for economic and domestic purposes. For 11 liters, you need 2 teaspoons. Water is not used for cooking.

• Acetic and citric acid, lemon juice. These are natural food reagents that soften and oxidize the liquid. Used against scale from the kettle and for the care of curls. For 2 liters of water, 1 tbsp. l. acetic acid or 1 tsp. lemon juice or acid.
• Synthetic products in tablets or powder. They are used for washing machines and dishwashers.

Cons of using reagents:

1. The importance of observing the exact dose of all ingredients.
2. Create custom retention rules.

You can purchase household filters or professional devices for cleaning liquids:

1. Pitcher filters. This is the most popular method for treating tap or well water. The device looks like a jug, has a carbon cleaning cartridge. It has a small volume, 1-4 liters of liquid is filtered at a time. The water becomes soft with a specific aftertaste. The cartridge should be changed every two months.
2. Ion exchange plants. The system contains two tanks with special filters for saline and ion exchange resins. First, the liquid penetrates into the container with resins, and then into the solution. Rigidity is lost due to sodium displacing salts.
3. Reverse osmosis system. The most efficient way. The device has a membrane filter, due to which a working pressure appears in the chamber, which purifies the liquid.

Hair wash

When washing off the shampoo, the hardness salts react to the fatty acid anions present in the care product. For this reason, poorly soluble cohesive components appear. Precipitation clogs the pores of the skin, makes the hair rough, it loses its elasticity.

Also, the constant use of hard water makes the structure of the strands weaker. The influence of ultraviolet aggravates the situation, the air causes more oxidation and gradual destruction of the hair cuticle.

To soften water for washing the head and body, baking soda, boiling, and salt are successfully used. The following shower cleaners are also effective:

• Ammonium chloride. A liter of liquid will require a teaspoon of alcohol. The tool softens the liquid, reduces the effects of magnesium salts, under the influence of which the curls become lifeless and dull.

• Boric acid. Half a teaspoon per liter of water.

• Glycerol. 1 tbsp is taken per liter. l. facilities. The method is effective for oily curls.

• acid environment. To do this, you need vinegar (1 tablespoon per 2 liters), citric acid or juice (1 teaspoon). Stir before use, wait five minutes.
• Borax, nettle or birch infusion. To achieve a noticeable result, regular rinsing is necessary.

In aquarium

The hardness in the aquarium should be between 4 and 6 degrees. In this case, fish and plants will feel great. Lowering it below this level is also not worth it, otherwise the water balance is disturbed.

First, the owner of the aquarium should measure the indicators of the aquatic environment. If it is hard, then soften it slowly, as the fish are sensitive to sudden changes. The simplest method is boiling. Salts create sediment, carbonate hardness decreases. After heat treatment, it is necessary to cool the liquid, stand and pour, changing a third of the container.

Distillate is a source of soft water. Its hardness is only 1 dKH, very hard liquids can be mixed with this liquid. The procedure should be carried out with care so as not to cause a lack of trace elements.

Some fish owners use freezing. Pour the liquid into the dishes, put in the freezer, pull out. Pour out excess water, wait for the ice to thaw. Water will be in this case 3 dKH. You need to change the liquid in the aquarium partially. Rainwater and melted snow are also used. Precipitation should not be used in urban conditions, otherwise the fish will experience severe discomfort.

For bathing a child

Mothers often choose the following methods for bathing and washing their babies:

• Installation of a liquid purification system. This option is not cheap, but the most effective. You should contact the organization that installs such a system. The skin will noticeably improve not only in the newborn, but also in the parents.
• Drinking water from bottles. If the baby's water procedures take place in a baby bath, you can use products from the store. You should carefully study the purchase so as not to purchase a low-quality product.
• Cosmetics for baby care. Special bath foams are used to soften water and prevent loss of skin moisture. For example, the manufacturer Mustela is effective for atopic dermatitis.

• Flax seeds. A decoction should be prepared. Bring 1 liter of liquid to a boil, pour 4 tablespoons of the ingredient, heat for 5-7 minutes. Leave for an hour, then add to the bath before water treatments.

• Soda or potato starch. The most affordable and fastest method is the use of starch. Draw water, add 200-300 g of the ingredient until a white tint appears, start bathing. The ratio when using soda is a spoon per 1 liter.

• Table or sea salt. For 100 g of the product, 10 liters of liquid are taken.
• Boiling. Simple, but not the most efficient way. Before water procedures, boil the liquid, wait a bit for settling, pour in water without sediment.

For watering indoor plants

Main methods:

1. Settling. Collect liquid, leave for a couple of days. During watering, do not shake, do not apply sediment. The method is effective for areas where tap water is not too hard.
2. Melted snow or rain water. The method should be used if a person does not live in the city.
3. Boiling. The procedure leads to a change in the structure of water, so such a liquid should be diluted with water after settling.
4. Hot water from the tap. It should be cooled and defended. Such a liquid is better, as it heats up and softens in boiler rooms.
5. Acetic or citric acid. This method should not be used for hippeastrum and some other flowers, because the water becomes acidic.
6. Pitcher filter. You can use store bought or make your own. You will need a dense fabric, ash or activated carbon, cotton wool. Fold them in several layers, turn on the tap. The liquid should flow in a small stream.
7. Means for reducing stiffness. The price of one small bottle will be about 100 rubles.

Video: how to soften hard water at home?

• Sometimes the question arises whether water softened with oxalic acid is harmful to humans. This method is usually used for indoor plants. It reduces hardness to 5.5 pH. The agent does not accumulate in the ground and flowers. It improves the soil by eliminating pathogens, which positively affects the development of beneficial microflora and strong roots. For 10 liters of liquid, 1/5 tsp is taken. acids, mix and pour. Settling is not required. It should not be used to wash the hair, as there is a risk of damaging the skin.
• To check the hardness of water in a particular region, you can call the housing office and ask directly, take it to the laboratory for analysis or see if pale mineral solutions are observed on objects when they interact with the liquid.

Water softeners may not be very cheap or complicated, but the investment in time and money will soon pay off. If there are few harmful impurities, the consumption of powders, shampoos and gels is noticeably reduced. It also reduces the risk of kidney disease, gallbladder pathologies. The well-being of each family member improves, skin and hair look healthier.

Often the water that enters the water supply system at home from a well, well or central water supply is quite hard, which creates certain problems with its use both for drinking or washing hair, and for the normal operation of devices with water heating elements. Therefore, many are interested in whether and how to soften water at home from a well, well or water supply. In our article, we will consider different ways of softening water, both using modern technologies and "folk", their advantages and disadvantages.

Water hardness: what is it and what can it be

The hardness of water is determined by the content of salts soluble in it, mainly magnesium and calcium. The more of them, the harder the water will be. This will be manifested by intense scale deposits when it is heated in a kettle, as well as on the electric heating elements of a boiler, washing machine or dishwasher. Hair in such water is poorly washed out, washing powder or soap does not foam well, and tea is not so tasty. Most plants do not like hard water either. An excess of Ca and Mg ions in it leads to the fact that many of the necessary nutrients (P, Fe, Mn, etc.) pass into insoluble compounds.

If you want to know the absolute value of water hardness in the water supply system of your house or apartment, and it is measured in mg-eq / l, then you need to do an appropriate analysis in a specialized laboratory. In different countries, the rigidity standards may differ. For example, in the Russian Federation, water with a salt content of 9 or more mg-eq/l is considered hard, and in the USA - 6 mg-eq/l. For drinking, it is not recommended to use water with a hardness of more than 7 mg-eq / l.

There are two types of water hardness:

• temporary, due to the content of calcium and magnesium bicarbonates in it;
• constant - if it contains such chemical compounds as chlorides, phosphates, sulfates, silicates or nitrates of calcium and magnesium.

When water with temporary (carbonate) hardness is heated, bicarbonates disintegrate with precipitation, which settles on the walls of dishes or heating elements. At the same time, the hardness of the water is reduced. The compounds that determine the constant hardness of water, when it is heated or boiled, do not decompose and there is no decrease in hardness.

There are different methods that can be used at home to soften water from a well, well, or plumbing. Each of them is characterized by the ability in one way or another to reduce stiffness to a certain level or completely.

Methods and methods for softening water at home

In order to soften (soften) the water yourself, you can use the following methods:

1. Thermal or ordinary boiling;
2. reagent- by adding chemicals of different origin, which interact with water hardness salts, bind them. Most often, as a result, insoluble compounds are formed that precipitate or are in suspension. This is how mitigation occurs;
3. With filters:
   • Ion exchange, in which hardness ions (Ca +2, Mg +2) are replaced by other ions, most often Na, the compounds of which do not form scale;
   • Membrane in which hard water is forced through a special semi-permeable membrane that retains hardness salts (and not only them);
   • Magnetic – whose work is based on the use of a constant magnetic field;
   • electromagnetic – which use an electromagnetic field of a certain frequency generated by a microprocessor;
4. Folk methods, which were used earlier (in addition to boiling), when there were no other ways to soften water and are sometimes used now at home.

Each of these methods has its pros, cons, and can be used to reduce hardness, depending on how much water needs to be softened, how quickly, for what purpose, and how much you are willing to spend on it. And in order to know how to soften water from a well or a well and make the right choice, we will consider in more detail the features of all these methods, the methods and expediency of their use in a particular case.

Boiling

The simplest and most common way to soften water at home. It can reduce the hardness caused by calcium bicarbonate, which decomposes under the influence of high temperature into insoluble calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which forms a precipitate and carbon dioxide. In addition, boiling can partially reduce the hardness caused by another salt - calcium sulfate (CaSO4), at a temperature of 100 ° C, its ability to dissolve is somewhat reduced.

advantage This method of softening is its maximum simplicity and no need to use any substances or devices. Water softened in this way can be drunk and used for any other purpose.
Its disadvantages:

• it is possible to reduce only the temporary hardness of water, and then only partially;
• a precipitate is formed that must be removed;
• the difficulty of using to soften a large volume of water.

Use of different chemicals

A wide range of different chemically active substances can be used to soften water, such as:

Flaws use of water softeners:

• It is necessary to know and strictly observe the dosage for each substance;
• It is necessary to ensure their constant availability and storage, which requires a special place (especially in the case of caustic or soda ash and lime) and additional funds (Calgon and others). The only exception here can be baking soda, vinegar or citric acid, which, in practice, are always in any kitchen.
• It is not possible to use water softened with reagents for drinking or cooking (with the exception of baking soda, vinegar or citric acid).

If you need a small amount of water (1-3 liters) for drinking or making tea, you can use a household filter in the form of a jug with a replaceable cartridge designed to purify and soften water. Depending on the hardness of the water and the required amount, such a cartridge may last for 1-2 months, after which it will need to be replaced with a new one.

Softening with ion exchange filters

This method involves the use of filters filled with special materials that provide ion exchange, cations that are part of their composition for hardness ions (Ca, Mg). Most often, special resins are used as such materials. In the process of water softening, the number of ions intended for exchange in them (most often these are Na cations) is constantly decreasing, and in order to restore their number, the material is replaced or its so-called regeneration - re-saturation with Na ions. For this, most often, salt solutions are used, and hardness ions are discharged into the sewer.

Ion-exchange filters-softeners can be as follows:

• In the form of a flask with backfill polyphosphate crystals (in the photo - on the left) - the simplest and most economical option. One filling of crystals is usually enough for 2-4 months. After that, they must be replaced with a new portion.
• Cartridge- with special replaceable cartridges for water softening (in the photo - in the center);
• Regenerative- in which there is a periodic regeneration of the properties of the ion-exchange resin located in them with the help of a saline solution (in the photo - on the right). This is the most expensive option. Such filters can be in the form of cylinders with a separate brine tank or have a compact form, where both the filter and the salt tank are placed in the same housing.

Benefits ion-exchange filters can be considered their rather large performance and a fairly high level of stiffness reduction.

Flaws:

• Water softened in this way is not suitable for cooking or drinking;
• Backfill or cartridge filters require periodic replacement of crystals or cartridges;
• Regenerative filters are expensive, they require a large consumption of common salt, the supply of which must be periodically replenished and they must be connected to the sewer to discharge the solution with hardness ions after regeneration.

Mitigation with membrane filters

When water is softened in this way, it is "squeezed through" at an excess pressure of 3-4 atm. through a special membrane, which is called semi-permeable, as it allows water molecules to pass through, but does not allow salt molecules or any other impurities to pass through. This method allows you to soften the water as much as possible, almost to the level of distilled water. On the one hand, this is very good, especially if you need to get the softest water possible, but it is not recommended to use it for drinking or cooking, since it lacks the salts and minerals necessary for the body. Therefore, very often, such filters are equipped with a special mineralizer, which ensures the saturation of purified and softened water with the necessary minerals and salts.

Membrane filters include filters, the so-called reverse osmosis (pictured) and some desktop models, such as "Brook".

In addition to the need for additional mineralization of water, such filters have the following flaws:

• To ensure that the liquid is forced through the membrane in the water supply system of the house, there must be a pressure of at least 3 atm .;
• The rather high cost of both the filters themselves and consumables (replaceable membranes).
• Relatively low performance.

Magnetic softeners

The operation of such filters is based on the ability of a constant magnetic field to change the properties of the liquid that flows through it. Such filters, as a rule, are a cylindrical housing with permanent magnets, which is installed directly on the line. There are also models that are mounted on the pipeline in the form of overlays.

As a result of exposure to a magnetic field, hardness salts lose their ability to be deposited in the form of scale or deposits on heating elements and pipe walls, and existing deposits are loosened and removed by a liquid flow in the form of slag, which is collected in special settling tanks or mechanical screen filters, from where it is periodically removed. To ensure effective water softening using this method, its flow rate should be in the range of 0.5-4.0 m/s.

Softening with electromagnetic waves

To soften water in this way, a device with a microprocessor is used that generates electromagnetic waves of a certain frequency. As a result of their impact, hardness salts lose their ability to form a solid precipitate or scale, but are in suspension in the water and are eventually removed into the sewer. Such a device is installed on the main pipe and can be used both in water supply and heating systems, both to soften the newly incoming liquid, and to destroy and remove previously formed deposits of hardness salts.

Folk methods

In addition to the methods discussed above, to soften water at home, you can also use one of the folk methods that were used at a time when there were no filters yet. The use of boiling, soda and vinegar has already been mentioned above. Here we will consider other very affordable options when there is no softener filter or its use is impractical: