What is Hard Water?
Rain water is naturally soft but when rain water falls on calcium, chalk, limestone or any other soft rock formation, it is the minerals within these rocks that dissolve into the water, giving you hard water around your home. Over 60% of households in the UK suffer from the effects of hard water.
The Cost
Hard water scales up your hot water tanks, pipes, washing machines and heating systems. Government figures show that an amazing 38% loss in heating efficiency will occur with just 6mm of scale build up within an average family home heating system. However it's not too late to install a 'Nuwave' water softener. Once you have it will start to dissolve any existing scale and more importantly it will prevent any future build up.
How a nuwave™ Water Softener Works
A
water softener works by forcing hard water into a tank of millions of tiny beads of special resin. As the hard water passes over the beads a process known as 'ion exchange' occurs and this causes the water to become soft. After a while (how long depends on the hardness of your water and the number of people in the house) the resin becomes exhausted and has to be regenerated. This is achieved by flushing the resin with salt water, a process known as 'regeneration'. The salt water solution is washed away to drain and does not enter the household water supply. This approach is common to all water softeners but its how each manufacturer goes about it that separates the best from the merely average.
The Benefits of Softened Water
- Over 50% reduction in the use of shampoos, soaps, conditioners and cleaning products
- Lower heating bills
- Your glassware will sparkle and plates will shine
- Experience the softer feel of your clothes and towels
- Your heating systems around the home will become more efficient
- Luxurious soap lather and double the amount of bubble bath suds
- Cleaning time around the home will be dramatically reduced
- Softened water is kinder on skin
The Valve
All of the Nuwave models have user friendly sophisticated meter controlled valves that automatically controls the machines functions. The Fleck range of valves that Nuwave use is trusted and is well proven within the industry and is also universally acknowledged as the most reliable in the world. Fleck valves have continued to lead the industry successfully within the UK for over 30 years.
Basically there are two types of control valves, timer controlled and meter controlled. A timer controlled valve is manually programmed to regenerate at a set time dependent upon the number of people in the household. It will regenerate whether water is being used or not and therefore is not as efficient as a meter controlled valve as it can waste both salt and water. A meter controlled valve utilises an electronic meter which actually measures the water consumed and only regenerates when necessary which is a more efficient and economical means of softening the water supply. Meter controlled valves are initially slightly more expensive but these costs are easily recovered by the reduced quantity of salt and water being used during the regeneration cycle.
ECP Group pump, water treatment, well and borehole specialists.
Tel: 01473 400101 or email: sales@ecpgroup.com