One of the most frequently asked questions we receive by home owners whether the Zeta Rod can replace a water softener? . The answer to this question is: "YES". However, many people assume that by that we mean that the Zeta Rod is a water softener. This is a common misconception, while the Zeta Rod is a viable alternative for a water softener, it is not a water softener.
There seem to be many people out there on the internet that are fast in criticizing the Zeta Rod, more from a lack of understanding of the technology than anything else. Through this blog we want to help people get a better understanding of the technology and the benefits it can offer.
This will be a two part post. In this first part we will discuss what is Water Hardness, why do people want to get rid of it, and how do salt based water softeners work. In the second part we will explain how the Zeta Rod works and how it differs from a water softener.
In order to understand what a water softener is, and how a Zeta Rod differentiates from one, we need to understand what Hard Water is. Water as supplied by municipal water systems, or wells, is not pure water, it has many dissolved minerals in it (pure water is not good for drinking). Calcium and Magnesium tend to be amongst the most common minerals found dissolved in water, and amongst the ones in higher concentrations. The amount of these minerals dissolved in the water are referred to as the Hardness of the water and it can be measured in parts per million (ppm), milligrams per liter (mg/l) or in grains per gallon (gpg). One ppm is equivalent to one mg/l, and one gpg equals 17.1 mg/l or ppm.
Water Hardness varies from zone to zone as it can be seen in the next picture that was borrowed from the USGS website.
The US Department of Interior and Water Quality Association classify water hardness as follows:
| Classification | mg/l or ppm | grains/gal |
|---|
| Soft |
0 - 17.1 |
0 - 1 |
| Slightly hard |
17.1 - 60 |
1 - 3.5 |
| Moderately hard |
60 - 120 |
3.5 - 7.0 |
| Hard |
120 - 180 |
7.0 - 10.5 |
| Very Hard |
180 & over |
10.5 & over |
Hard water in itself does not pose a health hazard, quite contrary, some agencies such as the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences) state that hard drinking water generally contributes a small amount toward total calcium and magnesium human dietary needs.
So why do people want to get rid of hardness?? The Wilkes University Center For Environmental Quality Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences department explain it perfectly. On their website they write:
"Hard water interferes with almost every cleaning task from laundering and dish washing to bathing and personal grooming. Clothes laundered in hard water may look dingy and feel harsh and scratchy. Dishes and glasses may be spotted when dry. Hard water may cause a film on glass shower doors, shower walls, bathtubs, sinks, faucets, etc. Hair washed in hard water may feel sticky and look dull. Water flow may be reduced by deposits in pipes.
Hard water also contributes to inefficient and costly operation of water-using appliances. Heated hard water forms a scale of calcium and magnesium minerals that can contribute to the inefficient operation or failure of water-using appliances. Pipes can become clogged with scale that reduces water flow and ultimately requires pipe replacement. "
One way to address these issues caused by the hardness in the water is to install a water softener in your house.
Water softeners have been around for quite a while and their principle of operation is quite simple. It consists of replacing the hardness ions in the water (Calcium -Ca- and Magnesium-Mg-) with a different ion, Sodium (Na). The way this is done is by passing the hard water that comes into the house through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical called zeolite. This resin bed is saturated with sodium ions that attach to the beads. Calcium and Magnesium have a stronger attraction to the zeolite, so as the hard water passes through it, they take the place of the sodium, and hence the hardness of the water is removed.
As the zeolite becomes saturated with calcium and magnesium, the water softener starts losing its efficiency and the hardness of the water that makes it into the house gets higher (this is why some places even with water softeners see the effects of hard water over time). At this point it is time to regenerate the resin. This is done by flushing it with brine, which is a solution of water with salt. As this concentrated brine goes through the media, it displaces the Ca & Mg and replenishes the media with Na.
Water softeners not only are far from being perfect, they have many inconveniences such as:
* They require frequent maintenance and regenerating of the media
* They are not environmentally friendly: More and more locations are setting strict regulations on the use of water softeners because of the brine discharge. California is banning the use of water softeners in some areas all together.
* Soft water is not good for irrigation, it will damage plants.
* People with high blood pressure problems should not drink soft water.
The Zeta Rod is a green technology that offers an alternative to water softeners without the inconveniences associated with them. In the next post we will explore how the Zeta Rod works, what benefits will it offer to the home owner (or commercial/industrial customer) and how it differs from a water softener.
