With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.
Certain microorganisms such as healthy bacteria are beneficial for us but generally speaking; we don’t want microorganisms in our water supply. Many people install a water softener because they have hard water issues caused by an elevated concentration of calcium, magnesium, and perhaps iron in their water. Some people believe that a water softener can remove other contaminants such as microorganisms, but this is simply not true. In this article, we will take a closer look at how a water softener works, what it can remove, and how to get rid of microorganisms.
What is Hard Water?
Hard water contains an elevated level of mineral content that changes the makeup of the water supplied to your home. The minerals that cause hard water are calcium, magnesium, and also iron, but this is less common. The water that arrives at your taps has a long journey that involves passing through various strata of sand, soil, and rock formations. Many people don’t know that water is a very effective solvent, and it can dissolve many types of material that it passes through. The minerals are added to the makeup of the water, but in most cases, you cannot detect them with your senses.
How Does Hard Water Affect My Home?
Hard water minerals create scale when they are in regular contact with surfaces. A home supplied with hard water may have a thick layer of scale hidden inside the plumbing pipes. This will gradually lower the aperture of the pipes, the water flow will slow, and this will lead to a lack of water pressure in the home. The formation of scale can also affect water using appliances, including kettles, water heaters, coffee machines, washing machines, dishwashers, and more.
The scale typically forms on the surface of heating elements or in pipes. This material makes the appliance less efficient, leading to the consumption of more energy and higher utility bills. Appliances are more likely to break down, and the useful lifespan is shortened, leading to an earlier than expected replacement. The mineral ions in hard water react poorly with soap and detergents, and forming suds for cleaning is inhibited. Many people add more soap or detergent to compensate, but this has little to no effect.
Hard water is also hard on our skin, hair, and nails because the mineral content is left behind after the water has evaporated. This can lead to breakouts, acne, itchiness, and dry skin after we’ve washed or taken a shower. When you wash your hair with hard water the minerals are tangled in the hair, making it unruly and hard to manage. Our nails can often feel brittle and sore after washing in hard water.
The only way to solve all of these issues is to get rid of the hard water for good. This may seem like an expensive option, but when you consider the cost of repairs, replacements, skincare products, and more, it starts to look like a real bargain.
How Does a Water Softener Work?
There are many types of water softener systems, but the most effective ones use an ion-exchange method. They take the ions of the hard minerals and exchange them with sodium or potassium ions. Both sodium and potassium are salts that are much kinder for you and your appliances. The mineral content adheres to the surface of resin in the media tank, and it’s periodically removed and flushed away with a regeneration cycle. The only real issue with this type of system occurs if anyone in the home is especially sensitive to salt. Most people don’t notice the addition of salt because it takes place on a very scale. But, if you or anyone in the home is on a very low sodium diet, you may experience problems. As an alternative, you can make a switch to using potassium rather than sodium in your water softener. Potassium salts are better than sodium for those sensitive to salt, but they do cost a little more.
What About Contaminated Water?
The primary threat of contaminated water in our modern water supply systems is bacteria. The health authorities divide bacteria into two broad categories, pathogenic and non-pathogenic. Both are found naturally in water supplies, non-pathogenic bacteria are not harmful to health, and pathogenic bacteria is harmful. Some examples of pathogenic bacteria include E.coli, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Giardia Lamblia, Cryptosporidium, and Legionella Pneumophila. The actual health effects of exposure can include vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and even death in extreme cases. Our water treatment plants are designed to remove harmful pathogens, but breaks in the supply network can occur, and this is how bacteria can enter our drinking water. Pathogenic bacteria are hard to detect without water testing conducted at a laboratory.
How Can I Remove Microorganisms?
If you want to remove the threat posed by microorganisms from your water supply, there are two main options to consider.
- Reverse Osmosis (RO)
This system uses a semi-permeable membrane, the water is forced through under pressure, and any contaminants are left on the surface. This is a very effective system, the collection of clean water takes time, and the cleaned water is stored in a tank.
- Ultraviolet (UV) Light
UV light works on a frequency that is extremely harmful to microorganisms. Exposure to UV light actually damages the DNA of the microorganism and prevents it from reproducing. This type of system is easy to install, simple to use, and the UV bulbs are inexpensive to replace.
A Staged Approach to Healthier Water
As you can see, a water softener used in isolation will only remove the mineral content that makes the water hard. It cannot remove bacteria or any other kind of contaminants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), total dissolved solids (TDS), heavy metals, harmful pathogens, and others. The only way to get healthier water for your home is to use a staged approach that uses multiple systems. As an example: you may have a pre-filter to remove larger particles of sediment, then a water softener to remove hardness, followed by a RO system to clean the water and a carbon filter to put a final polish on the water. The exact systems that you would choose would be determined by the water in your local area.
If you want to learn more about improving your water quality at home, contact your local water treatment specialist today.