Water Softeners
Hard Water was once rainwater falling through the air collecting gases which becomes slightly acidic. This water passes through the ground in contact with chalk or limestone and these minerals are collected forming troublesome minerals. The water collects in aquafers before naturally coming to the surface or into reservoirs. The Calcium and Magnesium are dissolved in the water and classed as hard and troublesome for ongoing use and processes. These hard minerals in solution precipitate out as scale deposits especially when heated.
A Water Softener will remove hardness salts from the water. These salts of Calcium and Magnesium ions are hard and are exchanged in the process for Sodium ions which are soft.
This process is called Ion Exchange Softening and the equipment used a Water Softener.
A typical Water Softener consists of a Mineral Tank, or Pressure Vessel filled with Resin. Located usually on top is a Control Valve or Head. A Brine Tank is usually adjacent or an integral surround of the pressure vessel as a single cabinet unit.
The water is passed through the Control Valve and down through the Vessel by riser tubes surrounded by Resin. As the water passes through the Resin bed, the Calcium and Magnesium hardness salts attach to the bed and through ion exchange are replaced with soft Sodium ones so the water leaving the water softener is soft.
This exchange is finite and depending on the amount of Resin and the hardness of the water being treated will alter the timing of the regeneration cycle using Salt as a brine solution. Regeneration is the term use when the Resin being exhausted ( the hard Calcium and Magnesium ions have replaced the soft Sodium ions ) and requires the Resin to be backwashed, rinsed with brine (salt), rinsed with water and the brine tank refilled to allow the salt to dissolve for the next ongoing regeneration.
Once this cycle of regeneration is complete the Resin is recharged with soft Sodium ions ready to accept the hard Calcium and Magnesium ions for exchange to give once more soft water.
Water softeners are sized to suit the requirements for their use and can be Simplex, Duplex and even Triplex for Industrial use or smaller domestic models.


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