It is easy to understand how important water is in our lives. Water is a precious fluid that keeps us alive. Since our early years in school, we have learned that about 70 percent of our body is comprised of water. There is no doubt that this valuable fluid that keeps us alive also has some impurities.
You must have heard about hard water and soft water. Hard water is comprised of several impurities including dissolved metals like calcium, limestone, magnesium, and others. Hard water and skin problems often go hand-in-hand. It causes a gamut of skin problems such as irritation as well as others.
The use of hard water for cleaning and washing makes it difficult to remove completely the residues of cleaning products such as soaps and detergents.
The Solution – Water Softener Salt
Any chemical that reduces the amount of calcium and magnesium ions in hard water is known as a water softener. It is necessary to treat hard water because it will damage your plumbing, clothes, dishes, and hot water tank. Water softener salt is the most commonly used water softener. There are three types of water softener salts:
- Rock Salt
- Solar Salt
- Evaporated Salt
These three water softeners have one thing in common; they all use sodium chloride to soften hard water. However, the sources of these salts are different. The sources of rock salts are deposits present on the ground. Solar salt is obtained from harvested evaporation of sea water. Evaporated salt is extracted through underground mining.
The Process
The first step of the water softening process is to identify the hardness of water. It is measured by finding out the abundance of minerals present in the water. To test the hardness of water, you can take a one-liter sample of hard water in a laboratory and have it tested. The type of water softener salt required depends on the amount of minerals.
The next step is to choose a water softener salt. For hard water softening, it is appropriate to use the most soluble salt. Evaporated salts have the highest solubility because they consist of about 99% of sodium chloride.
