Most searched for brands of measuring and regulation technology
Do you have unsightly white deposits on your taps, the lifespan of your household appliances is below average, and even the food doesn't taste as good as elsewhere? You probably live in an area with very hard water. We will advise you on how to solve the situation. And we'll also show you how much it will cost.
Areas with above-average hard water cover a large part of the Czech Republic - households in regions such as Central Bohemia, Hradec Králové, Ústí nad Labem, and South Moravia struggle with high levels. However, problematic areas occur to a lesser extent throughout the entire Czech Republic.
The often-mentioned term "hard water" simply refers to water with an increased content of dissolved minerals. Primarily, this involves calcium and magnesium, but it often also includes strontium and iron or manganese oxides.
These elements most commonly enter the water as it passes through rock environments where dolomite and limestone prevail. Limestone (calcium carbonate) is harmless to the body and even contributes to the natural balance of water. However, it is responsible for the formation of limescale - the dreaded threat to our washing machines and taps.
If your appliances are failing due to hard water as if on a conveyor belt, it's time to consider purchasing a water treatment system for your home.
Many people confuse a water treatment system with a water filter, but these are two completely different devices:
The purpose and principle of operation are thus completely different in the case of a treatment system and a filter. For the purpose of reducing the mineral content in water, only water treatment systems designed for water softening can be used. There are water treatment systems available on the market that also address other drinking water issues, such as high iron or manganese content.
With water softeners, you can set the desired water hardness value, which should be in the range of 0.7-2.5 mmol/l. Remember that calcium is an important component of drinking water, and its low concentration is also undesirable, as its deficiency poses a health risk to humans. If you want to ensure that your water has an optimal composition, have a professional water analysis conducted.
Water softening devices usually operate on the principle of ion exchange - with the help of salt, dissolved calcium and magnesium ions are absorbed, and sodium ions are released.
Such functioning hard water treatment systems are not entirely new, but in the past, they were criticized by environmental organizations. They pointed out the large amount of water used for regeneration and the discharge of large amounts of salt into wastewater.
However, this criticism no longer applies to modern, computer-controlled drinking water treatment systems. For example, the Honeywell KaltecSoft hard water treatment system is controlled by a modern microprocessor on the principle of intelligent proportional regeneration. In practice, this means that the station calculates how much water it will be able to soften based on the set water hardness and the integrated consumption meter. During operation, it monitors the remaining capacity and automatically starts regeneration at a user-defined time (e.g., at night). Always only to the extent necessary to restore the ion exchanger to 100% capacity. Thus, there is no degradation of the remaining unused capacity of the ion exchanger. In the long term, it significantly reduces the amount of water and salt used for regeneration.
Low water and salt consumption logically has an impact not only on the environment but also on your wallet. Customers often ask what size water treatment system to choose. Although softening stations monitor consumption and automatically adapt to it, it is still important to have an idea of how much water your household consumes before purchasing.
Choosing a device with too small a capacity will result in more frequent regenerations than necessary, which will negatively affect the economic balance of operation. It will also require more frequent refilling of the softening salt reservoir, which corresponds to the approximate capacity of the treatment system. With the correctly chosen capacity, the device only needs to be refilled once every few weeks.
For this reason, Bola.cz offers a wide range of Honeywell KaltecSoft water treatment systems with an approximate capacity for 7, 15, or 21 people, with no significant differences in the initial purchase price. In fact, you can calculate the costs of water treatment yourself in an interactive table - they usually amount to around two thousand crowns per year.
At first glance, the investment in a water softener for a family home, which costs about 27 thousand crowns for an average household, may seem high. However, if you look at a more detailed calculation, the return on investment is usually within a few years.
In this regard, a survey by Innogy provided interesting data. According to their research, the impact of hard water reduces the lifespan of a washing machine by almost four years. For a dishwasher, the life cycle is shortened by three years. In both cases, the lifespan of appliances decreases by about a third.
Household operating costs also increase significantly. For example, the efficiency of a water heater is on average 12.8 percent lower in the case of hard water, and it will be similar for radiators clogged with limescale.
Limescale is also responsible for the rapid degradation of plastic and rubber seals. According to the survey, a leaking tap alone can drip over 3.5 cubic meters of water per year - more than the largest water treatment system for 21 people consumes in an entire year. And that doesn't even mention other benefits of using softened water, such as lower consumption of cleaning agents, a positive effect on the skin, or the disappearance of unsightly stains in the bathroom or kitchen.
Getting rid of limescale in pipes or household appliances is practically impossible, only water treatment can help here. However, for cleaning unsightly taps or showers, there is no need to purchase special cleaning agents. Foods that are commonly found in kitchens can serve this purpose well.
In practice, vinegar applied to a microfiber cloth has proven to be very effective. Using its solution is also suitable, for example, for cleaning electric kettles. Very good results in cleaning taps and showerheads can also be achieved with baking soda or citric acid. Simply moisten the tap, sprinkle it, let the agent work for a few minutes, and then scrub with a kitchen sponge. However, forget about using a wire brush, which can easily irreversibly damage the surface.
Bola.cz
