Water Softners

Water Softeners/Conditioners

Water softeners and conditioners are used to improve the quality of hard water or reduce the effects and damage caused by hard water.

Water hardness is created by high levels of calcium and magnesium ions in the water although other cations such as strontium, iron manganese and barium can also contribute. Hard water requires more soap than soft water to obtain a lather or soapy bubbles. It can also cause scale to form on hot water appliances, air conditioners, etc.

Water Softeners

These units vary in size depending upon the water hardness and amount of water required. They usually consist of 1 tank filled with resin media and a reservoir filled with a brine or salt solution. As the hard water passes through the resin media the calcium and magnesium ions are attracted to the media and exchanged with sodium or salt ions. This removes the hardness from the water supply. When the softener resin can no longer attract or hold any more calcium or magnesium ions the unit is back flushed (the water flow is reversed) to remove these ions and replace them with sodium ions.

One of the major draw backs with water softeners is the addition of sodium/salt into the water supply and the amount of sodium/salt, calcium and magnesium to be disposed of during the flush cycle.

Water Conditioners

There are two main types of water conditioner; magnetic and catalytic. The catalytic units are essentially an inline catalytic water treatment system. They operate by combining the following:

1. Turbulence of the water through a specially designed catalytic chamber.
2. Creation of a small electrical field around the chamber casing.

The combination causes a separation of the mineral particles in the water, which changes their behaviour. Particles which were previously attracted to each other, now repel and separate into smaller individual particles. This allows the separated mineral particles and salts to flow through the system with minimal interference.

Installation is very simple. The units come with either a battery pack or 240 volt power connection depending on the availability of power at the proposed site location. The water conditioners are usually fitted into the mainline after the water meter or pump before any pipe branches or junctions so all water supplied can be treated. They can also be installed at any angle without affecting performance.

Once installed many have claimed their town water has a more natural taste and feels like spring water rather than their chlorinated supply.

Other Benefits Include...

• Improved taste of water, tea and coffee and keeps your kettle/jug clean.
• Helps keep bath tap and shower walls clean with less scrubbing.
• Water saturates and cleans better, gives whiter softer clothes with less detergent.
• Dishwashers and washing machines remain clean and scale free requiring less maintenance.
• Stops scaling in piping, removes existing scale, improves water pressure.
• Lawns and gardens require less water to stay green and healthy.
• Less water spotting on windows and buildings.
• Protects water heaters from corrosion, adding years to their life.
• Reduces salt build up and encrustation on air conditioners.

Beneficial for...

• Residential and commercial uses.
• Swimming pools.
• Motor homes and boats.
• Golf courses and irrigation systems.

With sizes ranging from 6 mm (1/4”) up to 250 mm there is a unit suitable for every application and what’s more like our range of water filters they come with a 10 year warranty and satisfaction guarantee.