Hard water is water with a high concentration of dissolved minerals, most commonly calcium and magnesium.

There are plenty of signs that your water is hard;

- Reduction in water flow caused by build-up in water heaters, pipes, dishwasher and shower heads.

- Reduction in soap and shampoos ability to lather.

- Dull and stiffer appearance of your laundry.

- Hair dryness and skin irritation

- Unsightly white coating or spots on your kitchenware.

The best way to know if you have hard water is to have it tested. 

- At Water Land we offer free basic water testing. Bring your sample and will tested for you.

- You can purchase a testing kit. For that we recommend using ProOne water testing kits.

- Testing labs are fond in most regions, and you can find out more about them through your local municipal water authority.

Hardness can be removed using a softener. Water Land has two types of softeners that are available: Salt-based softener and Salt-less Softener.

A salt-based softener removes the hard ions (mainly magnesium and calcium) using an Ion Exchange technology. This technology is the most common, simple, effective, and safe technology used in household applications.

The salt-based softener mainly consists of three major components: Resin tank, salt tank and control valve. 

Resin Tank

The resin tank contains resin beads. The ion exchange process happens inside these beads. The sodium ions inside these beads are replaced (exchanged) with magnesium and calcium found in the hard water. Once all the sodium ions in the beads are all exchanged, and the beads area saturated with calcium and magnesium ions, they need to be regenerated.

During the regeneration process, the resin beads are soaked with salt water. The magnesium and calcium ions are flushed and replaced by salt ions. The flushed water is sent to the drain.

Salt Tank

The salt tank is also called a brine tank. It holds the salt needed for the regeneration process.

Control Valve

The control valve monitors water usage and determines when to regenerate. 

The size of a softener is the “grain capacity of a softener” which mean, how many grains the water softener can remove from hard water before it needs to regenerate. To calculate the grain capacity of softener;

1. Calculate the following values; Water demand (gallon/day)Water hardness equivalent (grain/day)Regeneration frequency (day)

2. Then use the following equation:The Grain Capacity of Softener = Water demand (gallon/day) X Water hardness equivalent (grain/day) X Regeneration frequency (day).

Please contact us and Water Land professional will help you select the right softener size (capacity) for you.

The salt-based softeners are available in two styles: Two-tank unit or Cabinet unit. The cabinet style is a compact unit with built in salt tank which make it ideal for small spaces. The two-tank style has separate salt tank for ease access and service.

The space required is based on: the style, the brand, and the capacity of the softener.

A typical two-tank unit will require 5ft x 5ft width x 3 feet depth.

Contact us and a Water Land professional will help you to determine the right softener capacity and required space for it.

Softeners are used mainly to remove calcium and magnesium ions. Small amount of Iron and manganese can also be removed, and they are included in the calculation to size a softener.

At Water Land we sell softeners that use dual media (resin mixed with activated carbon) to soften and remove chlorine from water. This option of softening and chlorine filtration is provided by the top-notch in the water treatment industries. Namely; Ecowater, Excalibur and Watts.

Salt-less softener conditions hard water by crystalizing the calcium and magnesium ions and prevent them from precipitating, and thus forming scale, on the downstream pipes and appliances. It is more accurate to call them water conditioner or descaler rather than softener.

The crystallization process occur in the salt-less conditioner is called “Template Assisted Crystallization” or TAC.