Water Treatment Information and Benefits
Water Softening
Water is softened through a process called ion exchange. It is accomplished by passing the water through resin beads that trades sodium ions for calcium and magnesium ions. After the resin bed has been in use for some time, calcium and magnesium begin to fill the beads. At that point, the resin must be regenerated by passing a concentrated solution of salt slowly through the bed; the excess sodium ions displace the ions that produce the hardness so that, after flushing with water, the bed of resin is ready to be used again.
Some benefits include:
- Softer skin and hair – Hard water minerals bonds with skin and hair leaving a nasty film. Kind of like that limescale on your faucet! A Smooth Water Softener removes hardness minerals naturally so you can stop spending money on lotions & skin care products as your body becomes free of buildup!
- Extend appliance life: Dishwashers, washing machines, water heaters (tankless, electric, & gas), ice maker, boiler systems, & humidifiers all suffer when your water contains hardness minerals. Do them a favor (and your pocketbook) and give them soft water. Plus you can save up to 40% on energy costs related to your water-using appliances – that’s pretty awesome!
- Clean Less: While saving up to 75% on cleaning products can be enough to pay for a water softener, what’s even more valuable is your time. Stop scrubbing, folks, there’s a better way! Hard water minerals buildup on faucets, fixtures, dishes, glassware, & stemware and leave you using chemicals to clean up the mess. A Smooth Water Softener saves you time & money so you can clean less and live more
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse Osmosis removes harmful contaminants from your water that other filtration will not remove.
A reverse osmosis membrane is a semi-permeable membrane that allows the passage of water molecules but not the majority of dissolved salts, bacteria and chemicals. A simple example is a screen door. It allows air molecules to pass through but not pests or anything larger than the holes in the screen door. With the removal harmful contaminants and chemicals you to get the cleanest drinking water right from your tap. No more lugging around those heavy and costly cases of water. SWS recommends reverse osmosis drinking water systems for those who want the highest quality water for their families. It gives you high quality water now at an affordable cost.
In summary:
The R.O. system compliments the whole house water system by removing chemicals that may not be removed by carbon filtration, including Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Chromium 6, Chromium 3, Copper, Fluoride, Lead, etc., as well as sediment and other dissolved solids.
Gravel Bed vs Vortech
For decades the gravel bedded tank has been the staple of the water treatment industry. The gravel-bedded tank is reliable failsafe and easy to clean since the distributor tube can be completely removed from the tank as well as the gravel bedding. The majority of tanks sold in the water treatment industry today use gravel bedding. The Vortech tank has been around for well over 10 years now and utilizes a distributor plate which is molded into the bottom of the tank eliminating the need for gravel bedding. This provides much better flow rates and less pressure drop. When used in a water softener configuration the Vortech tank uses less water since the softener resin bed is light and easily lifted. Lift also occurs when a gravel bed tank is used, but it is minimal and not nearly as efficient. The Vortech tank saves you money in the long run.