MAGNETIC WATER CONDITIONING

Rather than simply replacing the calcium ions with sodium ions, magnetic water conditioning works on an entirely different principal. Magnetic water conditioning systems cause the calcium and carbonate ions present in the water to reform into crystals before they can attach themselves to your pluming fixtures or interact with soaps and detergents. As an added bonus, the calcium carbonate in solid crystalline form can be removed by filtering systems.

Magnetic water conditioning systems use the fact that a magnetic field will exert a force on moving charged particle. The direction of this push depends on the direction and charge of the moving particle. This is the how electric motors work. As charged particles, electrons, move along a coil of wire they are pushed by the magnetic field from magnets in the motor housing. This push is perpendicular to the coil of wire, and causes it to spin.

In a magnetic water conditioning system, powerful magnets are placed around the incoming water pipe. As the calcium and carbonate ions enter the magnetic field they are pushed in opposite directions, due to their opposite charges. As all of the calcium ions are pushed in one direction and all of the carbonate anions are push in the opposite direction, they tend to collide. When these collisions occur, the ions stick together forming a solid form of calcium carbonate called aragonite. These microscopic crystals can then be filtered out or allowed to pass through your home’s plumbing and down the drain. Because the crystals were forced to form while moving in the water, they do not have an opportunity to attach themselves to your fixtures. Furthermore, sense the calcium is no longer in ion form; it does not interact with soaps and detergents, eliminating the build-up of soap scum.

MAGNETIC WATER CONDITIONING

Calcium ions (Ca2+) and carbonate anions (CO3 2-) are dissolved in water.
Calcium ions and carbonate anions are pushed together by magnetic field colliding to form solid aragonite. Solid aragonite crystals pass harmlessly through plumbing system without adhering to fixtures or interacting with detergents.

• Benefits of Magnetic Water Conditioning
• Does not pollute water by adding sodium
• Does not waste water during regenerating processes
• Requires no electricity
• No mechanical or electric parts to maintain or repair

Hard Water

As water passes through soil and over rocks on its way to your local reservoir or aquifer, it slowly dissolves minerals just like the salt discussed before. Water that contains a lot of dissolved minerals is said to be "hard". The primary culprit is calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Calcium carbonate in its various forms is one of the most common minerals and the primary component of limestone. When dissolved, it becomes a calcium ion (a calcium atom missing two electrons, Ca2+) and a carbonate anion (three oxygen atoms and a carbon atom bonded together with two extra electrons, CO32-).

The dissolved calcium carbonate presents a few problems in residential tap water. The most noticeable is the scale that builds up around faucets, in tubs, on shower walls, in coffee makers, pretty much every where the water is used. As the water evaporates when these surfaces dry, the calcium and carbonate ions are left behind. With out water to remain dissolved in, they reform into a mineral, clinging to the surface the water was originally on. Another place these ions reform into mineral deposits is the inside of your water heater especially on the heat exchanger. This causes your hot water heater to work less efficiently, and can eventually damage the pluming inside the hot water tank. The ions in the water can also interact with soaps and detergents resulting in soap scum.

Traditional Water Softeners

Traditional water softeners use a process called ion exchange to remove calcium ions for the water. Water is passed over a material (different manufactures uses different materials and processes) that has been covered with sodium ions. The calcium ions have a stronger attraction to this material than the water molecules. As the calcium ions are attracted to the material they trade places with sodium ions. Eventually all of the sodium ions on the material will have been replaced with calcium ions and the system will need to be regenerated. This is the reason for the rock salt and back flushing. While such systems do remove much of the calcium from the water, every calcium ion removed is replaced with a sodium ion. The advantage is that minerals formed with these sodium ions do not adhere to surfaces like the calcium-based minerals.

Disadvantages of ion exchange water softeners
• Cost of regenerating (rock salt, wasted water during back flushing)
• Possibility of expensive repairs to mechanical or electrical systems
• Health concerns arising from high levels of sodium in water
• Environmental damage due to sodium levels in waste water

Put salt in water and what happens?

Recall what you learned in high school chemistry. Table salt (NaCl) is formed from sodium and chlorine held together by electromagnetic forces. A neutral sodium atom has eleven protons and eleven electrons. However, the eleventh electron is easily removed from a sodium atom. When this happens, there are more positively charged protons then negatively charged electrons, so the particle of sodium has a net positive charge. The reverse happens to chlorine, it tends to pick up a loose electron, becoming negatively charged. These charged atoms are called ions (positively charged), and anions (negatively charged). The oppositely charged sodium and chlorine ions are attracted to each other and form a salt crystal.

A water molecule (H2O) is formed differently. Unlike the salt, where one atom gains an electron and the other loses and electron, the atoms of hydrogen and oxygen share electrons. However they do not share evenly. The electrons tend to spend more time around the oxygen. This unequal sharing leads to a fascinating phenomenon. The oxygen side of the molecule has a slight negative charge and the hydrogen side has a slight positive charge. When you put salt in water, the positively charged sodium ions are now attracted to the negative side of the water molecules. Similarly the negatively charged chlorine anions are attracted to the positive side of the water molecules. This attraction to the water molecules pulls the salt crystal apart and we say it dissolves. The ions and anions are now mixed through out the water.