Before knowing how to soften hard water, it is important to determine if the water is hard . Every establishment be it a factory or household utilizes water and none of it is pure. Hard water is rich in the content of calcium and magnesium. Although there is no health hazards involved with hard water, it is still an inconvenience. The inconvenience however stems from the issue that hard water reduces the capacity of all forms of cleaning activities. There are several methods of softening hard water:

1) Chemicals- If a particular homeowner does not have the resources to invest in a full-fledged water treatment system, then chemical method is the next best option . Two chemicals used in the water treatment are sal soda and Calgon. If sal soda is used, that may cause some solid particles to form while combining with calcium and magnesium . The solid particles can cling to the fabric, which can leave behind some debris.

2) Salt- this is one of the conventional ways of reducing magnesium and calcium in water. In this particular method, the water that enters the house is filtered through the zeolite minerals. A reaction occurs during the treatment process which replaces the magnesium and calcium ions to be replaced by sodium. The zeolite minerals need to be changed on a regular basis and this can be done by partially submerging the minerals in salt and water pellets . This system includes a large tank where the bags of softener salts are regularly added. With the help of the timer, the salt water system will recharge or rejuvenate the zeolite minerals.

3) Magnets- to make water really suitable for drinking and gardening, the salt method is not effective. In this method, specially designed magnets are attached to waterlines entering the building. The water passes the magnet and all the undesirable substances are pulled by the magnets. However, the filters need to be changed on a regular basis.

This article was written by Mark, He is one of the active memmber of BBB association South San Francisco. In this article he explains about how to soften hard water. You can have a peek into his suggestions:

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