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Monday, May 11, 2020

Effective Filters Remove Water Hardness

It must be said that it is possible to bring on a user experience with shower filters that can reduce and if not eliminate certain conditions associated with the water supplies to the households.  Most people would be in the know about the ill effects of hard water and chlorine residue and every effort must be made to have these elements removed from the water being used in homes and workplaces as well. 

Why chlorine should be removed from water

There are a number of factors that make chlorine as something that is not required to be present in the water being used.  It does serve the function of purifying the water but in excess is rather undesirable for the following reasons.

            Taste and smell: Chlorine present in potable water does introduce a smell and taste to the water and this could interfere with the use of water, especially for potable purposes.  It must be noted that chlorine does have a pungent taste and odor that a good number of people find it offending to say the least.

            Hair and skin: Used over extended periods of time, the chlorine in the water does cause roughening of skin and hair.  The hair in particular looses the gloss and shine.  It could even lead to premature graying and brittleness of the hair too.

            Soap and detergents: Chlorine has the effect that more amounts of soap and detergents are needed to bring about a good cleaning action.  This could lead to an increased use of the soaps and cleaning agents too. 

Effect of excess chlorine in water and ways of removing it

With the typical situation of excess chlorine in the water, the person using the water gets to smell chlorine in the water.  When the levels of chlorine are within manageable levels it is that there would not be such a perceivable smell but it is still possible to have a slight taste to the water.

            Carbon filters: It is possible to control the minutest traces of chlorine in water by the use of activated carbon filters that are used to filter the water.  Even the least amounts of chlorine are removed in this method and additionally if there is some element that causes a discoloration of the water, it is removed as well.  But it must be said that this is rather an expensive method that involves replacing the filters from time to time and hence high on maintenance as well. 

            Aeration: This involves introducing streams of air into the flow of water and it does help if the water is slightly heated.  The levels of chlorine are considerable reduced by this method and there is a perceivable drop in chlorine levels.  This is a very practical and easy to follow method that really does not need much by way of maintenance too.

            Chemical reagents: Any amount of chlorine in water and even the tiniest part can be neutralized by adding reagents to the water before being used.  This is one way of assuring a water supply that is totally free of chlorine and goes without saying that it could be one of the most complex of solutions as well as probably the most costly as well.  The added reagents must be right in quantity to just neutralize the chlorine content and no more or else the reagents could cause the contamination of the water being used. 

Hard water and what it is

The one property of water is to be able to dissolve a large number of substances in itself.  Thus when water is flowing through the ground as streams or rivers, it is just possible that there could be dissolved substances that get picked up along the way. Sometimes these substances can produce a good effect so to speak. Dissolved salts can indeed produce a taste to water that can be rated as desirable as well as refreshing. 

But this very nature of water to dissolve substances can mean that at times certain undesirable substances are picked up along the way. There is no real way to controlling an area that a body of water could flow through and it is best to manage the condition of the final water than anything else.  This in essence is what is meant by hardness of water and there are a number of ways of effectively handling the situation. 

Ways of removing hardness from water

            Heating: In a typical condition known as temporary hardness of water, the fluid is heated to remove the hardness.  The very nature of the hardness causes the dissolved salts to be precipitated as residue and deposited outside the water.  It must be pointed out that this sort of a condition is more a rarity than a usual practice with hard water and the majority of the conditions of hardness cannot be handled in this manner.

            Reagents: The most common method that hardness is removed from water is to use reagents that would neutralize the hardness to a good bit.  It must be pointed out that the particular reagent must be chosen according to the hardness present in the water and a thorough analysis must be done before deciding on the most suited reagent.  The thing about the reagents is that they need to be refreshed from time to time and hence it takes a fair bit of maintenance to keep it functioning. 

Conclusion

It is always the most desired situation to have water that needs little or no treatment as such.  But it is not always that people are so blessed and most folks do need to be prepared for some sort of treatment steps to clean water for use.  If there is indeed a silver lining, then it could be the very fact that often the ease of contamination of the body of water also decides on the ease of making pure the said water body as well.  The best practices are not often the most economical ones either.

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