Limescale

Limescale and Hard Water

Hard water is water with a high mineral content. Water becomes hard when it flows through mineral rich rock such as limestone. Minerals which dissolve into the water include calcium and magnesium. Water hardness increases with the concentrations of these minerals. When heated these minerals will solidify. Hard water will create scale build-up in pipes, on the heat elements of appliances and in boilers. This can increase the cost of domestic water heating by about 15-20%. Hard water also prevents soap from lathering. Soft water is kinder to hair and skin, fabrics are softer, last longer and whites stay white.

Test the hardness of your water in a laboratory to determine its hardness.

Minisoft technology

Smart & Environmentally Friendly Whole House Limescale Control. Protect your home from limescale and corrosion internally,
inside pipes and boilers. It makes cleaning easier. Limescale residues wipe off easier off dried surfaces. Compact, easy to fit (no bypass needed), and simple media change every 20,000 litres. Simple, environmentally friendly, and economical.

This product uses polyphosphate which is proportionally dosed into the water at 5ppm (or 5 mg/l). It cannot over-dose the water for the level is always between 3-5ppm.

Polyphosphate is a good grade, non-toxic substance that is used widely in coffee machine filters and jug filters and has a long-established record of being safe to use and drink. Therefore, this product can be installed at the entry point of a property and serve the entire building.

This new technology is better than alternative solutions such as salt-based softeners, which are the most heavyweight, expensive, and environmentally damaging and are not an option if you have no sewerage services and your own septic tank. Salty water down the drain is an environmental disaster, especially for waste water treatment.

Suitability

The MiniSOFT is suitable for properties with up to a maximum of 2 bathrooms (maximum flow 33 litres per minute) where there is 15mm pipework coming in. If you have a larger property please see the Osmio MaxiSOFT. It comes with one free of charge starter refill. Each refill lasts for approximately 20,000 litres and is available to order as a pack of six refills. In a house with two adults, 6 refills last around 400 days.

Key Benefits

– Easy to fit and low cost
– Easy shut off for simple media replacement
– Avoid the formation of calcium bicarbonate preventing incrustations in pipes and heating systems
– Create a film inside the plumbing system which protects pipes from corrosion
– Environmentally friendly alternative to salt softeners that actually really works

How it works

The MiniSOFT works by proportionally dosing the water with 3-5 ppm of polyphosphate. Polyphosphates are food grade and non toxic and used in jug and coffee filters. The system can be fitted to the entry point of a property without the need for a separate bypass to the kitchen tap (i.e. it is drinkable). The media replacement is quick and easy and lasts up to 20,000 litres.

What it does compared to salt softeners

Salt based softeners actually take out the minerals and add in around 150 mg/l of sodium carbonate (not drinkable). This makes a lather effect with soap and the salt you add into it is used to backwash the resin in the tank. This flushes salty water down the drain which is an environmental problem and cannot be done on septic tanks. Installation must involve a bypass to the kitchen cold tap comply with WRAS Regs.

The Cleanwater Osmio MiniSOFT gets even better results than a salt softener when you consider only its “internal” effect. This is where the water cannot dry and therefore the material contact is protected from the formation of scale and corrosion which is where all the expensive plumbing problems happen. The Osmio MiniSOFT does not remove the need for cleaning off the appearance of limescale nor does it affect how soap lathers. It just makes the appearance of limescale which is less prone to forming and mineral residues less do not stick as much once the water has dried on a surface, making it easier to wipe off.

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If you want to to have fresh filtered water on tap in your home and office please contact us today