Hard Water Causes Pipe Scale

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Most residents in the United Kingdom have a problem with hard water. Hard water contains abnormally high and difficult levels of minerals and ions that are not found in "soft" water. Magnesium and Calcium are the minerals that worry people the most. Water starts out as soft but becomes hard when rain water seeps through areas of earth that are high in minerals before it is absorbed into the water table. Soft water is rain water that has fallen to ground that has high concentrations of stone or soil that is peaty. These cannot be absorbed into the water, so the water stays "soft" as it seeps into the water table.

The problems caused by hard water are caused by the minerals that build up in the piping of your home and on the inside of your home appliances or other types of machines that use water on a regular basis. This "scale" decreases the efficiency of the pipes, appliances and machines and eventually they stop working properly.

When your home has hard water it also makes it harder to clean because the minerals interfere with the lathering action of your soap making it harder to rinse the soap from whatever you are cleaning. All of the extra work your machines are doing and water you use as you try to keep your house and body clean cause your energy and water rates to rise. If you let the scale build up too long in your pipes, they will need replacing"a very expensive endeavour.

Many homeowners in the United Kingdom have found that installing a water softener can help a great deal in ridding hard water of its mineral content. A water softener sits between a ground water source and your home and acts as a filter to trap all of the minerals that cause the water to be hard. The filters act as strainers to trap the calcium, magnesium and other minerals that are found in UK hard water.

Some water softener manufacturers include filters that will filter out other things as well as hard water minerals, creating a soft water that is easy to wash and clean with and won't build up mineral scale on your home's pipes.

Hard water can wreak havoc on a house and the human body and the danger is proportional to the amount of dangerous minerals contained in the water. The worst minerals in hard water are magnesium and calcium because too much of either ion can cause disastrous effects on a home and on the human body.

Mineral scale build up on pipes can cause the walls of a pipe to become weak and eventually those pipes will start to leak. This can cause a person thousands in repair and doctor costs. The easiest way to make sure that you only use soft water is to install a water softener somewhere inside your home or on your property.

By: Tal Potishman

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles about central heating, home boilers, Golders Green plumbers, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.

Hard water problems in UK

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Calcite, the main cause of scale, is the most common form of calcium carbonate and occurs naturally as a natural ingredient of chalk, limestone and marble. Water passing over and permeating through such rocks dissolves calcite when this water subsequently flows through a water system the calcite precipitates out to form a very hard scale on surfaces.When hard water is heated, or evaporation takes place, the problems are exacerbated. Calcite forms ever growing layers of rock-like deposits until eventually pipes, jets and equipment become totally blocked. The problem increases as the water gets hotter. Water containing 145 ppm of calcite, flowing at 3.5 litres per minute, produces in one year 4.8 kilograms of scale at 60ºC. At 80ºC this rises dramatically to a massive 29.9 kilograms! Scale wastes both energy and financial resources just one eighth of an inch of scale reduces heating efficiency by 25%. It is also very expensive to remove, de-scaling pipes and boilers alone costs British Industry over £800M each year.

Hard water substantially increases energy consumption, necessitates equipment downtime for cleaning and results in the early renewal of capital equipment. Executives involved in running a business, local government department or institution are under increasing pressure to cut costs and become more efficient. However this must be carried out with due regard to increasing environmental legislation.

From its many years experience in hard water treatment scalewatcher has refined and developed its Electronic Descaling Systems. These provide companies with a clean, effective and environmentally friendly means of removing and preventing
limescale build-up.

Scalewatcher is a unique, efficient, energy-saving device better than the water softener or a magnet. It is designed to eliminate the problems of hard water, whilst retaining the natural benefits. This is achieved by changing the size of the particles of precipitated compounds, by aiding the ability of crystals to form their shape, and by altering the solubility of compounds within liquid. Scalewatcher takes the process of induced ionisation to its ultimate stage. The principles of Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are applied by passing scalewatcher's patented signal through a coil wrapped around the pipe to be treated. The signal consists of a frequency modulated (FM) wave form within the audio frequency (AF) bandwidth. This inaudible sonic frequency signal sets up a dynamic field around and through the coil, pipe and water, and modifies the calcium carbonate crystal nuclei. The nuclei upon which the crystals start growing are minute in size and have charged surfaces in their natural condition within the water. When they pass through the field, these naturally charged nuclei encounter considerable forces as the field interacts with them. The field acts at the surfaces of the nuclei and modifies the nature of the electrical charges and this ionisation effect thus alters the growth rate and pattern of the crystals in general and on specific planes.

The principle of magnetic water treatment is not new. The first patent was granted around 1900. Scalewatcher takes this knowledge into the 21st century. The electronic device treats the water by inducing magnetic AND electric fields with a continuous changing frequency. This forces the dissolved minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium to crystallize in the water before the ions settle (hard scale) at walls of piping, bathroom or heating elements of dishwasher and washing machine. This action stops any further build up of hard scale by preventing the settlement of dissolved mineral ions on whatever surface.

Advances in micro-electronics have enabled scalewatcher to produce a system which
is so compact that it can be installed in small or normally inexcessable spaces. It is ideal
for commercial applications such as laundries, hotels, garages, dentists, correctional
centers, restaurants and bakeries. Easily fitted and requiring no plumbing, chemicals or maintenance. Scalewatcher benefits include : increased life for capital equipment, lower energy bills, short term payback, reduced mechanical damage and failure environmentally friendly and hazard free.

The capability of the water to dissolve minerals will also be increased and this is the reason why hard scale layers will be softened, will slowly enter into the water stream, and will disappear down the drain.

By: Caroline Anderson

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

From its many years experience in hard water treatment scalewatcher has refined and developed its Electronic Descaling Systems. Scalewatcher is a unique, efficient, energy-saving device better than the water softener or a magnet.