Greeves246
Member
- Messages
- 1,022
- Location
- Cheshire uk
I wonder how many years before they find micro plastics in our bodies from deteriorating plastic pipes?
Up to what ppm value of carbonates in water can be present and the water is still regarded as 'soft'? And at what ppm value does scaling of kettles, showers, water heaters etc. become apparent?Although you say your water is soft, it isn’t ‘technically’ soft, it’s just less hard than other areas which, as I have already stated, water hardness does vary regionally in Britain. It still contains the minerals required. RO and properly softened water doesn’t.
I've recently installed a water softener in our French fixer-upper property,as the water in our region is seriously hard - pretty much off the scale (pardon the pun) on those little water hardness testing kits you can buy. Softened water that we're using to make tea and coffee gets passed through a Brita water filter and drinking water comes from a natural spring that's 4-5kms away and is by far the best tasting water I've ever drunk. There are always queues of people filling up water bottles/containers.Read the literature supplied with any water softener and it will tell you that it’s not suitable for drinking, and to have a separate tap for drinking. It’s true that a glass here and there won’t hurt you but I’m talking longer term.
So there isn't any real need to use the Brita water filter on our softened water?Salt is only used to regenerate the resins, it is not added to the water. It gets flushed out as part of the regeneration process.
I wonder how many years before they find micro plastics in our bodies from deteriorating plastic pipes?
My understanding has always been that softeners (the ones using salt) do add sodium to the water. First the sodium does go on to the resin but is then exchanged with calcium in the water during softening. As per this website https://watertreatmentservices.co.uk/drinking-softened-water/Salt is only used to regenerate the resins, it is not added to the water. It gets flushed out as part of the regeneration process.
All our fresh water came from RO when I worked offshore, and it also had UV on the final output. It was purified sea water we were drinking. Nothing was added, no minerals etc, all that can come from the food you eat.Yes it's true. And yes it is theoretically. '100% pure water' is not safe either. 'Pure water' is only really used industrially, in high pressure boilers etc. The minerals that everyone likes to remove are actually necessary in healthy , safe drinking water.
RO is used to produce drinking water in certain parts of the world, BUT it will be re-mineralised downstream with Calcium Carbonate.
You were very lucky to survive mate...do you feel ok after drinking it ...All our fresh water came from RO when I worked offshore, and it also had UV on the final output. I
@Shox Dr - I have been using Tesco Ashbeck water for years in my Sage machines (I am on number 3, none of the previous failures were down to water quality). I buy it in the 5 litre containers which sadly are made in plastic so they go in the recycling bin when used. Tesco have discreetly changed the spec. of the water in the past year or so but it is still way better than the tapoline we have here (Thames Water) and a good deal better than comes out of the filter jug. It was recommended by a service engineer from Coffee Classics some years ago (they service Sage and other coffee machines). We also have an ion exhange water softener but I am reluctant to use that water in the Sage because of the sodium content.
Totally depends on what it’s used for. Industrially, usually above 4 ppm. Lots of plants have hardness analysers which alarm at that level.Up to what ppm value of carbonates in water can be present and the water is still regarded as 'soft'? And at what ppm value does scaling of kettles, showers, water heaters etc. become apparent?
I very much doubt that nothing was added. I’ve worked on many RO units offshore and every single one had a re- mineraliser attached.All our fresh water came from RO when I worked offshore, and it also had UV on the final output. It was purified sea water we were drinking. Nothing was added, no minerals etc, all that can come from the food you eat.
Very few actually drink the water from the taps offshore, most people drink bottled !You were very lucky to survive mate...do you feel ok after drinking it ...
Solar stills / RO machines are carried on boats as backup I believe.
I've just tested our Sheffield tap water with one of the readily available water hardness testing kits and it's come out at zero (0) ppm in terms of hardness. The next step up is 40ppm and it's nowhere near that. By comparison I've also tested the Stafford water and that came out at around 350ppm - properly hard.Although you say your water is soft, it isn’t ‘technically’ soft, it’s just less hard than other areas
I need to buy one. Its around 205ppm here.I've just tested our Sheffield tap water with one of the readily available water hardness testing kits and it's come out at zero (0) ppm in terms of hardness. The next step up is 40ppm and it's nowhere near that. By comparison I've also tested the Stafford water and that came out at around 350ppm - properly hard.
So Sheffield water is soft; and also 'technically soft'.
I lived in Stafford for many years, our water was right ‘ard, but my dad lived just 7 minutes walk away from my place and his water was far softer. He reckons his area was on a different supply to ours, no idea how that would work being so close together.I've just tested our Sheffield tap water with one of the readily available water hardness testing kits and it's come out at zero (0) ppm in terms of hardness. The next step up is 40ppm and it's nowhere near that. By comparison I've also tested the Stafford water and that came out at around 350ppm - properly hard.
So Sheffield water is soft; and also 'technically soft'.
Re: the hard vs soft water and cardiovascular disease research, one of the explanations put forward was that soft water generally came from areas rich in acidic soils, and that it leached more lead from pipes than hard water. Now that much of the lead piping has been removed from the water supply infrastructure, the amount of lead in soft water drinking supplies will have diminished. The scientific paper linked to above was published back in 1972, when we lived in a soft water area and had lead pipes.
I think it depends who your supplier is - Severn Trent Water cover most of the Stafford area, but there is a small area served by the South Staffs Water company. I believe their supply is a lot softer than that provided by STW.I lived in Stafford for many years, our water was right ‘ard, but my dad lived just 7 minutes walk away from my place and his water was far softer. He reckons his area was on a different supply to ours, no idea how that would work being so close together.
I live 3 miles away from there now and the waters okay here.
Post in thread 'Hard Water - What Filter?'Which filter type are you using? Ion exchange, or something else?
My mum lives in Suffolk, the water there is 360PPM calcium carbonate. She's got a water softener feeding everywhere but the cold tap in the kitchen, and for a while she had an under sink filter on the cold tap, something like this one, but I think my brother whinged about the taste so I had to remove it. To be fair to him, filtered water does have a taste, I'd much rather drink the fully hard mains water. It worked very well, almost no scale in the kettle, I'd definitely use something similar when I get a nice coffee machine (It's actually stashed in the shed, I was going to use it to filter my beer brewing water). Now she just fills the kettle from a Brita jug, it seems to keep the scale down to a minimum.