WATER SOFTENER FOR HARD WATER, IRON & MANGANESE
There are different types of water softeners, including up-flow versus down-flow which can make a big difference, particularly if there are elevated levels of iron or manganese in the water. Water softening will greatly improve your water if you have hard water minerals, iron or manganese present. The main hard water minerals found in water are magnesium and calcium (the hardness minerals), while iron and manganese (“The stainers”) are also commonly found in Georgetown, MA water. These common contaminants found in Georgetown water can be removed with a water softener and/or a properly specified sediment filter depending on whether the forms are particulate or in solution. For more on hard water, see hard water epa.
HIGH EFFICIENCY WATER SOFTENER
Calcium and magnesium can have devastating affects on your home’s plumbing as well as your ability to clean, even though the EPA has no published limits on these. Hard water interferes with almost every cleaning task, from doing the laundry to washing dishes to taking a shower. Clothes can look dingy and feel rough and scratchy. Dishes and glasses get spotted and a film may build up on shower doors, bathtubs, sinks and faucets. Washing your hair in hard water may leave it feeling sticky and dull. Hard water can also cause a residue to build-up in pipes that can lower water pressure throughout the house. The EPA maximum allowable levels for iron as a secondary contaminant is .3 parts per million and for manganese is .05 parts per million as secondary contaminants. Small amounts of these minerals can have very noticeable, even devastating affects on your home’s water quality.
The following is a hard water measurement chart. Compare your water test results:
OTHER AFFECTS OF HARD WATER, IRON AND MANGANESE
Hard water scale can build-up inside hot water heaters insulating the temperature sensor inside the tank creating much extra work to bring the temperature up to the set level. This will reduce the life of your hot water heater and likely require early replacement. Some other affects of these contaminants include corrosion and scaling inside pipes, major staining throughout the home’s showers, bathtubs, and sinks and destruction of hot water heaters way ahead of their useful life. Hydrogen Sulfide is evidenced typically by a rotten egg smell in your water, however this may also be caused by high Manganese levels in the water as well. A water filtration specifically for this problem is effective in correcting this. For those using their well water for outside lawn irrigation, iron and manganese can cause major staining of outside walkways, house siding and anyplace the water touches. See the link at https://h2ocare.com/lawn-irrigation/.
Damaging Hard Water Scale Build-up
WHAT A WATER SOFTENER WILL REMOVE
A water softener is effective in removing dissolved forms of iron & manganese and hardness minerals. To remove particulate iron or manganese, a cartridge filter with proper micron rating will be effective. Depending on the specific situation, this could require a series of filters with different size micron ratings to handle heavier levels in the water. Selecting the appropriate micron rating and style of filter can be determined by a water treatment professional based on water test results and other symptoms. For more information on Iron and Manganese in water, see our published articles in Water Technology Magazine at the following link: https://h2ocare.com/publications/.
Dissolved Iron Staining
Point of use systems such as reverse osmosis technology will remove total dissolved solids from the water for premium quality drinking water. Speak to a water treatment professional to decide which system is right for you.
