We live in an area with very hard water. Those of you who also have hard water knows the havoc that it can bring. The dry skin (mine gets so bad that it actually cracks and bleeds), the spots on the dishes that never really come off, and of course, the impossible task of cleaning soap scum. So of course, now that our shower walls are falling down, and we need to fix it, we want to make sure to get tile that is both pretty and easy to clean soap scum off of.
Also, our home has a water softening system in it. We have talked about getting it back to working order, however, it wasn’t running when we bought our house over 5 years ago. Neither one of us really know how to get it running since we haven’t had water softeners before. And then there is the whole salt issue.
Have you heard of Easy Water systems? They sound really cool, since you don’t have to use salt. Do any of you have experience with them?
I would love to hear from other folks who deal with hard water. What do you do? Do you have a softener? What kinds of things do you use to clean soap scum with? What tile/shower surround do you have in your shower?
Here are two articles for some info about Magnetic or Ion Exchange softeners.
This link talks about the science of magnetic water conditioners
http://www.chem1.com/CQ/http://www.chem1.com/CQ/
This link is a recent study that shows that a ion exchange water softener is among the best energy saving devices found in a house.
http://watertechonline.com/sid.....p;Number=1
The only kind of “softener” by definition is an ion exchange water softener. The definition of “soft water” is the absence of hardness minerals in the water. These magnetic devices don’t remove hardness minerals so they come out of the tap on the other end. If there is any noticeable difference it would be in a closed loop system.
My family has been in the water treatment industry for 45 years. The entire time we have been with Culligan. It’s not that we and other companies aren’t looking for the holy grail of salt-less soft water, but “currently” there is no better way to “soften” water other than with an ion exchange water softener. These salt-less systems make a lot of around the edges claims.
The maker of these devices claim that having that calcium and magnesium in the water is good for you. I don’t debate that we need vitamins and minerals but we mostly get our vitamins and minerals from our food not our water. Water is what flushes our cells and organs. Digestion of food is where there is a slower process where we absorb the vitamins and minerals.
We have forever used an analogy for how much salt is in a quart of softened water. With the average hard water out there you can expect about the same sodium content in a slice of white bread as you do in a quart of softened water. Besides for the cost of an ion exchange water softener complemented by a reverse osmosis drinking water system you get actual soft water going through every pipe in the home and bottled water quality, in which 94-99% of all the sodium and other dissolved solids are removed at your finger tips. There is a lot of other potential bad stuff in water other than sodium. Not that you particularly have any harmful stuff in your water but the Culligan Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System removes is like a security system for your water.
We just got back from a convention in April 2010 and we are launching a new High Efficiency water softener that is 60% more efficient. Those people who don’t like the slimy water will be able to adjust the water to their satisfaction. It is the biggest change in softeners in 30 years. Full customization of your soft water experience. You can be guaranteed that when there is a Salt-less water softener your Culligan Man will be involved. Our 75 anniversary is next year.