Water Softener Systems, Whole House Water Filter Systems, and Water Conditioner Systems

Water Softner Products Here

Water Softener: Water softener systems reduce the hardness of water by replacing the hardness minerals - calcium and magnesium ions (other cations will be removed as well) - with another ion, frequently sodium. Hard water creates unsightly scale on water fixtures; coats water heating elements causing power loss and increased electricity consumption; wastes soap by reducing its lathering ability, and it leaves a residue on your skin and hair. Very hard water (>10gpg) can also cause premature clogging in reverse osmosis membranes. Water is considered slightly hard if it has between 1-3.5 grains per gallon (gpg) of hardness minerals, moderately hard 3.5-7gpg, hard 7-10.5gpg, and very hard 10.5+ gpg.

Salt-softened water feels mushy and has a slippery or slimy feel when bathing with soap. Many people do not like the feel of the water treated with a water softener, because it feels as if they can't ever completely rinse off the soap – your skin feels like it has a slippery coating. Consumers are told that salt water softeners bring out the natural oils of your body. This is not true. It is a sign of over regeneration and over softening.

Water Softener AESTHETICS

Salt based water softener systems can prevent the scale build-up in pipes and water heaters by removing the hardness minerals of calcium and magnesium. Because of the sodium content, softened water unites with soap limiting bathtub rings, allows better results with clothes washers and dishwashers, and leaves shower doors virtually free of the usual soap scum build-up. Most laundry and dishwashing detergents contain a lot of sodium. Sodium causes more suds, however suds do not clean. Even though the minerals are gone, the total dissolved solids in the water has not changed and therefore when water is left, it will leave a residue on surfaces or around faucets which is simply wiped up. Salt softened water can also cause spotting depending on how much sodium is in the water.

SALT IS CORROSIVE

Those in The Navy are familiar with the term "Marine Whites." Sailors used to put their white clothes in ocean water to whiten them. Caution had to be used because if the clothes remained too long in the heavily salt-laden water, they would deteriorate. Salt is corrosive. Softeners use the same salt spread on icy roads, which destroys the underside of cars. Those living near oceans know well the corrosiveness of salt to cars, houses, etc. Many people with galvanized pipes found that salt softened water did prevent scale build-up, but the trade-off was the salt also corroded their pipes.

Homeowners with salt water softener systems will go through more water heaters because of the salt's corrosive effect on the heating coils. Always check with a manufacturer's warranty related to water. Softened water should not go to a pool or spa. Hard water and naturally soft water have their maintenance issues, however softened water offers potential problems that may imply or outright void the warranty on certain products.

Water Conditioning

PRINCIPLE

The EWS Water Conditioner combines both filtration and conditioning in one system. The filtration is accomplished with a very high grade of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC). Used extensively in both water and air filtration, GAC works on the principle of adsorption, where substances in water are attracted to, and adhere to the surface of the carbon. GAC is carbon that has been activated to produce an extensive intricate inner pore structure with a large surface area.

GAC is most widely used for the removal of chlorine, chloramines (chlorine and ammonia), bad taste and odors. It is also used to remove volatile organic compounds, phenols, herbicides, pesticides, and surfactants. Most minerals, having the same polarity as carbon, are not removed when filtering through carbon. Carbon is the last stage in both reverse osmosis and distillation systems for removal of chlorine and volatile organic compounds.

The ICN Conditioner causes a physical change of the minerals. The minerals break apart from the water molecules and bond together. Operating on principles of polarity, the calcium and magnesium are attracted each other rather than attaching to pipes and other surfaces. The minerals are put into a suspended state, making them less adhering. Technically, this is called "increased calcite nucleation". MORE INFO SECTION 1

FEEL

Water treated by the EWS has more of the feel of naturally soft water (water with lower mineral content). It does not feel slippery, slimy, or mushy soft, like salt softened water. No water in its natural state feels like salt softened water. Soaps produce more lather with The EWS conditioned and filtered water versus untreated water. However, these soaps will rinse off quickly and cleanly, unlike salt softened water. Less soaps, shampoos, coffee grounds, tea, etc., are needed with The EWS system. MORE INFO SECTION 2

AESTHETICS

THE EWS conditioned water will tend to sheet. If water is left to dry on any surface it will leave something behind. These spots will simply wipe off versus untreated water where more work and special products may have to be used. Those who are replacing a salt water softener must be told that there will be fewer suds with The EWS water. The sodium content of salt softened water causes more suds. This is particularly true with some of the biodegradable laundry detergents. You should not use more soap to get more suds. Clothes will get clean without the excess soap and suds and rinse out and dry easier. The same with your dishwasher - use the appliance properly and with less powdered detergent.

When showering, The EWS water rinses off quickly and cleanly. The EWS makes the water easier to clean up, just like a water softener, (our approach is different). A dishwasher still needs to be used properly, toilets need to be cleaned, and surfaces need to be wiped off.

The EWS will prevent new scale and corrosion in pipes, and will de-scale existing pipes and fixtures. Older water heaters should be drained to remove scale and sediment after an initial installation. Water heaters will work more efficiently, and a savings on fuel and/or electricity will result. After de-scaling water heaters, they should be drained at least once a year. Water heater manufacturers recommend this procedure as preventive maintenance. MORE INFO SECTION 3

Water Filters : The basic concept behind nearly all filters, is fairly simple the contaminants are physically prevented from moving through the filter either by screening them out with very small pores and/or, in the case of carbon filters, by trapping them within the filter matrix by attracting them to the surface of carbon particles (the process of adsorption)

There are two main types of filters (sediment and activated carbon), and sometimes they are combined into a single unit.
When it comes to how good the filter is at removing particles from the water - smaller is better. A 1-micron filter will remove more particles than a 10-micron filter, but it will also clog faster. One micron is about 1/100 the diameter of a human hair. (For an illustration of micron purification levels click HERE ). A filter that removes particles down to 5 microns will produce fairly clean-looking water, but most of the water parasites, bacteria, cryptosporidium, giardia, etc will pass through the pores if present. A filter must trap particles one micron or smaller to be effective at removing cryptosporidium or giardia cysts. (Reverse osmosis filters at 0.001 microns) A benefit of home filtration systems is that they are passive. That is, they require no electricity to filter the water - normal home water pressure is used to push the water though the filter. The only routine maintenance required is periodic replacement of the filtration element. As long as the cost of the replacement filter elements is reasonable, owning a even a high-end water filter can be very inexpensive if you look at the long term costs and compare it with other solutions.

Sediment Filters : Solid particles are strained out of the water. Fiber sediment filters contain cellulose, rayon or some other material spun into a mesh with small pores. Suspended sediment (or turbidity) is removed as water pressure forces water through tightly wrapped fibers. These filters come in a variety of sizes and meshes from fine to coarse, with the lower micron rating being the finer. Depth type sediment filters are constructed typically from melt blown polypropylene, and trap sediment in an ever-constricting matrix as the water flows through the filter structure. The finer the filter, the more particles are trapped and the more often the filter must be changed. Sediment filters will not remove contaminants that are dissolved in the water, like lead, mercury, trihalomethanes or other organic compounds.

Activated carbon filters: particles of carbon that have been treated to increase their surface area and increase their ability to adsorb a wide range of contaminants. Coconut shell carbon and bituminous (coal) carbon are the most common sources of carbon in activated carbon filters. While bituminous carbon is the more cost effective type of carbon, coconut shell carbon is preferred in home applications due to the superior taste it imparts on the product water. The raw carbon source is slowly heated in the absence of air to produce a high carbon material. Passing oxidizing gases through the material at extremely high temperatures activates the carbon. The activation process produces the pores that result in such high adsorptive properties.

Activated carbon is particularly good at adsorbing organic compounds. You will find two basic kinds of carbon filters - Granular Activated (GAC) and Solid Block Activated.

Granular Activated (GAC) : In this type of filter, water flows through a bed of activated carbon granules which trap some particulate matter and remove chlorine, organic contaminants, chemicals, and undesirable tastes and odors The main problems associated with GAC filters are: channeling, and dumping. Water flowing through the filter can "channel" around the carbon granules and avoid filtration. Pockets of contaminated water can form in a loose bed of carbon granules. With changes in water pressure and flow rates, these pockets can collapse, "dumping" the contaminated water through the filter. The GAC filters used in the Tap Master series, Value Line Chemical Fighter series, and the Tap Master Jr F2 water filters use spring loaded pressure disks to compress the granular activated carbon and prevent channeling and dumping. High quality GAC filters will expose each drop of water to more carbon surface area than in solid carbon block filters.
KDF Medium: KDF filter additive employs a matrix (generally small granules) of a zinc/copper alloy, which eliminates contaminants from water by utilizing electrochemical oxidation-reduction. Chemical properties of KDF include the ability to remove chlorine, kill algae and fungi, and control bacterial growth in the filter. KDF controls and inhibits microorganisms by setting up an electrolytic field and also by forming peroxide and hydroxyl radical by redox reactions. Types of KDF will also remove hydrogen sulfide, iron, lead, cadmium, aluminum, mercury, arsenic, and other inorganic compounds. Zinc and copper are the preferred metals used in the KDF alloy since both are relatively good reducing agents with respect to common inorganic contaminants (such as chlorine), and both can be tolerated in solution in moderate concentrations without adverse side effects. Zinc chloride is soluble, while cupric sulfide and ferric oxide are insoluble therefore, both copper sulfide and ferric oxide must be backwashed off the KDF granules so the insoluble contaminants will not inhibit the working efficiency of the KDF granules.
KDF is the only filter medium that removes contaminants from running hot water (unlike carbon filters where hot water can release trapped contaminants into the water stream). This makes them ideal for use in the shower. The filters change the chlorine some people are allergic to into a form (zinc chloride) that is much more easily tolerated. KDF filter media must be used in conjunction with other filtration technologies, such as GAC and/or reverse osmosis, in order to remove organic chemicals (pesticides, disinfection byproducts, MTBE, etc), or parasitic cysts (giardia and cryptosporidium).
Carbon Block: Activated carbon is the primary raw material in solid carbon block filters; but instead of carbon granules comprising the filtration medium, the carbon has been specially treated, compressed, and bonded to form a uniform matrix. The effective pore size can be very small, down to 1 micron. Carbon block filters provide a small pore size to physically trap particulates. In some cases bacteria that become trapped in the pores do not have enough room to multiply, eliminating the problem described above for GAC filters. By combining other specialized materials with carbon block, greater capacity ratings for certain contaminants like lead, mercury, etc can be achieved.

Shower Filters: Our shower filters use an innovative dual-filter process. Stage 1 removes chlorine with a natural copper/zinc mineral media called KDF-55. Stage 2 uses coconut shell carbon for the removal of synthetic chemicals and VOCs. These shower filters will not only filter out chlorine, dirt and odors from the shower and has one of the best shower sprays available, it can also be extended 24 inches in any direction. Shower Falls delivers an exhilarating spray from a variety of angles including directly from above.