army_sister785 asked:


We just purchased a new house and it has a new water softener in it. I had heard once that when you have a water softener, you don’t have to use as much laundry detergent as is recommended in the washing machine . Has anyone else ever heard this or do you do this?

EVERLEY

Crushed marble, also known generically as calcite, is a naturally occurring calcium carbonate media that is crushed and screened. It can be used inexpensively to neutralize acidic or low pH waters to a neutral, less corrosive condition.

For homes that use well water, one of the most common causes of copper pipe corrosion is low pH, also known as acidic water. A low pH is water with a pH of less than 7.0 pH. Signs of acid water are corrosion of fixtures, leaking water heater tanks, pinhole leaks, blue staining (from copper pipes) or rust staining (from iron pipes).

Common causes for acidic water are acid rainfall due to atmospheric carbon dioxide and other airborne pollutants, runoff from mining spoils, and decomposition of plant materials.

One of the advantages of calcite or crushed marble is its self-limiting property. When used properly, it corrects pH only enough to reach a non-corrosive condition. It does not overcorrect. Upon contact with the crushed marble, acidic waters slowly dissolve the calcium carbonate to raise the pH thereby reducing the potential leaching of copper, lead and other metals found in typical plumbing systems.

Calcite typically has a density of 100 pounds to one cubic foot and is near white in color. The mesh size most commonly used in neutralizer filters is 16 x 40. The composition of this natural mineral is 95% calcium carbonate and 5% magnesium carbonate.

To correct low pH on a home water system, calcite is used in a filter tank similar in shape to a water softener or iron filter tank. Common tank sizes for homes are 10″ to 13″ in diameter by 48″ to 54″ in height. A filter gravel support bed is typically used beneath the calcite.

Depth of the calcite bed will vary but a minimum bed depth of 24″ is recommended. Periodic backwashing will prevent packing, reclassify the filter bed and maintain high service rates.

The service flow rate recommended is 2 to 6 gallons per minute per square feet of calcite filter bed area. For example, a 13″ tank is about 1 square foot. Even though the service flow rate is 2 to 6 gallons per minute, much higher intermittent flow rates can be realized and adequate neutralizing of the water still take place.

If the neutralizer filter is run continuously or for several hours at one time, say in filling a storage tank to serve multiple homes, the service flow rate of 2 to 6 gallons per minute should be used. For homes however a peak flow rate of 15 to 20 gallons per minute per square foot can be realized.

The backwash flow rate recommended is 10 to 12 gallons per minute. Depending on pH, water chemistry and service flow, the mineral bed will have to be periodically replenished as the Calcite is depleted.

In addition to being an excellent acid water neutralizer, this type of calcite is also an excellent filter media and can remove sediment and particles down to the 30 micron range in size. During the backwash cycle, the trapped sediment is flushed to drain, eliminating problems with pressure drop through the filter bed.

Calcite media is best used when the water is low in hardness and the pH is from 5.9 to 6.9. If the pH is less than 5.9 and especially if the pH is less than 5.0, magnesium oxide is often blended in with the calcite. Depending on the water chemistry magnesium oxide is added at a ratio of 10% to 30%, to 90% to 70% crushed marble.

Calcite will raise the hardness level of water although often no water softener is needed, because the increase in hardness is minimal. Some waters are soft to begin with and after treatment with calcite will be moderately hard, but not hard enough to warrant a water softener. Since water chemistry and temperature vary, it is hard to predict exactly how much harder the water will become, but most users find they do not need a water softener after installing a calcite neutralizer filter.



By: Gerry Bulfin

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REID

Michael M asked:


water quality in saltwater aquarium

ELIAS

What? asked:


Do UV Sterilizers minimize the effects of tap water conditioners? I just bought one for my pond, and I don’t want the tap water conditioner effect’s to be minimized.

LEIGHTON

moose7/2/74 asked:


I’m moving from southern California to Las Vegas and I have freshwater fish. Oscars and a community tank . I’ve heard that water softeners are ok to use if you use magnesium instead of salt and replace the removed minerals and adjust the ph back to neutral. Is that true, or will the fish be better off with straight untreated water from the tap?

FORRESTER

Stewey C asked:


Please provide me with the top of the line in making tap water safe, and also any other products to keep the water quality great. Please specify brand names.

KENT

Teichman87 asked:


I’m trying to find out if there is a demand for water softeners in North America, and if there are any relevant statistics out there to support this.

BECKY

D.K. asked:


I live in an apartment where many of the residents above me have air conditioners. As the water falls out of their AC, it drops onto my AC and makes a rather loud “plink” sound. As I can not do anything to their AC, is there anything I can do to my AC to reduce the sound of water falling on it? I realize it is water drops falling multiple stories to hit a metal case… so, can i do anything to the metal case to reduce the noise? Thanks…

CHARS

While it is possible for you or anybody to get your water softeners on the Internet, you need to be cautious before placing your order online.

No doubt that the Internet is a great place to shop and get any item you want to buy and have it shipped right to your location.

But you should always be careful because there are also many fraudsters on the Internet that set up websites with the sole purpose of scamming people out of their hard earned money.

If you don’t exercise caution before ordering your water softeners online, you might end up losing your money and become a victim of these fake resellers.

Good for you there are also many reputable water softener resellers on the Internet that you can buy from.

How can you find and get in contact with these good resellers?

Search the Internet by typing in the brand of water softener you’re looking for and see which sites turn up on the first page of the search engine results.

If you found a web site you want to buy from do some more research before immediately buying the water softener you found.

Check the website of the water softener thoroughly to make sure it is genuine. Most importantly, check to see if they have any physical location. If they do, you can check it out before placing your order.

I would also advice you to take some time to search for their phone number so you can make a call to see if the company really exists. It’s always a good idea to try to call and speak to someone at the particular company before placing your order online for the very first time.

Study the benefits.

When buying a water softener for the very first time it would do you good to talk to a professional so you can make a more educated and well informed decision when buying online.



By: Jeff Jefferson

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SCARLETT