Water Softener & Purifier

What are the Water Softener & Purifier?

Introduction

Water softeners and Water purifiers are whole-house filtration systems that use ion exchange to remove calcium and magnesium, the minerals responsible for water hardness. One of the most common and damaging water issues is hard water, and a water softener may solve that.

• The damage that hard water causes in a contemporary house are considerable. When scale forms inside of your pipes, it restricts water flow and lowers water pressure. Dishwashers, coffee makers, and ice machines all have drastically reduced lifespans due to scale. Heating systems are ruined by hard water. Hard deposits of calcium and magnesium can form inside of your hot water heater if you keep the water there at too high of a temperature.

The popping noise your water heater makes if you reside in an area with hard water is actually water bubbles. This is due to scale buildup on the heating element. Calcified rock layers crusting the heating elements begin breaking and expanding as the heater's temperature rises and the tank fills.
 

What is the Difference Between Water Softener & Purifier?
 

Water Purifier

Water is essential to human survival. There aren't many things we can't use water for, and that includes drinking, cooking, washing, and gardening. While salt water from the oceans makes up the bulk of the world's water supply, many people instead acquire their drinking water from freshwater sources like lakes and rivers. These supplies, however, are frequently tainted with bacteria and parasites. We rely on water purifiers to rid our water supply of potentially lethal pollutants.
 

Listed below are the three most common techniques for disinfecting water:
 

1. Distillation

Heat and evaporation are used to separate the water molecule from the impurities in this method. As the vapor cools, it condenses back into the water as it passes through a condenser. Since most impurities will be left behind in the heating apparatus, the treated water should be safe to drink. To ensure the highest level of purity, water is sometimes distilled more than once.
 

2. Solar Stills

For the distillation process, solar stills heat water with the sun rather than an electrical element. You've probably seen these in eco-friendly homes or in the hands of amateur survivalists.
 

3. Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis relies on pressure rather than evaporation, as do distillation processors and solar stills. In this method, dissolved inorganic solids like salt, lead, chlorine, fluoride, and pesticides are removed from water by forcing it through a semipermeable membrane.
 

Water Softener

Water purification processes sometimes leave trace amounts of minerals like magnesium, calcium, and iron in the finished product. The development of these minerals in your plumbing system is undesirable, and their harshness is felt by your skin and any water-using appliances. The number of minerals in your water supply and the location you call home determines how "hard" your water is. As a matter of fact, hard water is a major issue in the state of Utah.
 

Here are the basic types of Water Softener:
 

1. Portable Water Softeners

The convenience of portable Water Softener & Purifier allows you to enjoy the benefits of soft water no matter where your travels take you. These are ideal for campers and motorhomes. They can survive without power for weeks at a time and then regenerate. You can use common table salt to rejuvenate a portable water softener. In most cases, you won't need any special equipment to get the job done.
 

2. Salt-Free Water Softeners

Because they don't necessitate regeneration or salt, salt-free systems don't call for the same level of constant maintenance as ion-exchange systems. The hard minerals in the water are not eliminated by these water softeners. Instead, they neutralize them to stop the buildup that causes hard water from occurring.
 

3. Salt-Based Water Softeners

Most individuals have used water softeners that rely on salt for many years. They have large flow rates and are designed to deliver soft water to an entire home. Ion exchange, which occurs within the filter, removes calcium and magnesium from your water and replaces them with sodium ions
 

The Difference

Water softeners remove calcium and magnesium from the water and add trace amounts of salt, while water purifiers remove a wide range of potentially dangerous impurities.
 

How Does a Water Softener & Purifier Work?

An explanation of how a water softener functions is as follows:
 

• The water softener is the first stop for hard water after it enters your home from the main water pipe or well.
• The tank's resin beads work by attracting and capturing the minerals that cause hard water.
• The water is softened in the tank and then distributed throughout the house.

1. Water softener regeneration 
 

• When salt is added to a water softener, a highly concentrated salt-water (brine) solution is produced.
• In order to remove the hard water minerals that have accumulated on the beads, the brine solution is pumped through the resin tank. The term for this process is "backwash" in the context of water softeners.
• The tank is connected to a neighboring drain where the brine solution and hard water minerals are emptied.
• The resin beads have been refreshed and are once again ready to absorb minerals from hard water.
• The average water softener has a two-hour regeneration cycle. Using water during a water softener regeneration is not advised since hard water will flood the water heater, potentially causing buildup.

2. Co-current regeneration cycle

Brine solution in a co-current regeneration cycle flows into the mineral tank in the same direction as the service flow. As the brine solution sinks through the resin bead bed, the ion exchange process repeats itself, but in reverse. The magnesium and calcium ions are expelled from the beads in exchange for the sodium ion as the brine passes over them.
 

3. Regeneration cycle

Starting at the bottom, where the resin beads are often least depleted, the brine is pumped upward through the resin bed in a countercurrent cycle. 

Thus, the number of hardness minerals that initiate re-exchange during the regeneration phase is reduced. When the hard water first enters the softener, it does so toward the top of the resin bed, where the brine is less depleted.
 

Components of Water Softener & Purifier
 

1. The Mineral tank 

The hard water goes into a special tank called a mineral tank. The tank receives the hard water directly from the water delivery line. Calcium and magnesium ions are deposited in the water when it seeps through the bed of resin beads.
 

2. Control Valve 

A meter that measures how much water is being pumped into the mineral tank is located within the valve.

 The resin beads in the mineral tank trade their sodium ions for the hardness ions in the water as it goes through. If the beads become too saturated with minerals to continue removing calcium and magnesium ions, the control valve will automatically begin a regeneration cycle. 

The computer inside the control valve calculates this maximum capacity depending on a variety of criteria, including the square footage of your home, the number of people living there, and the hardness of the water in your area. 

To maximize efficiency, water softening systems use control valves, which act as demand-initiated controllers.
 

3. The brine Tank 

In order for the water softening system to complete its regenerative cycle, a brine tank is required. Next to the mineral tank is a smaller tank. 

A concentrated salt or potassium solution is stored in the brine tank and used to restore the positive charge of the resin beads. Brine tanks require the manual addition of salt in the form of pellets or blocks. These sink to the tank's floor and dissolve in the water.

 Heavy brine solution is withdrawn from the tank and flushed through the resin in the mineral tank when the control valve detects a decline in the softening capacity of the resin. 

Once the salt in the brine tank is gone, the softening process will stop and untreated water will be released into the environment.
 

FAQs: Water Softener & Purifier
 

Q. Does a water softener & purifier remove iron?

Ans: Yes, a certain amount of ferrous iron that is soluble in clear water can be removed using the conventional ion-exchange found in water softeners.
 

Q. What is the price of a water softener & purifier?

Ans: The price of a water softener & purifier is between Rs 30,000- 45,500 per piece. 
 

Q. What are the methods to install a water softener & purifier?

Ans: Here are the methods:

• Position the water softener
• Turn off the water supply to your house at the main line
• Drain your pipes
• Cut into the water supply main line
• Measure, cut, and connect the pipes
• Clamp the drain hose
• Connect the overflow tube
   

Q. How to choose a water softener & purifier for home?

Ans: Here are the guides:

• Finding the Right Brand of Water Softener
• Timer Controls
• Features
• Check the size
• Detect the hardness of the water
• Consider the type
• Hard Water