Hard Water Easy Solution

I am more or less stationary for awhile.

Last year I bought a 5th wheel with washer, dishwasher, full bath etc. I eat at home so my kitchen sink is very busy.

Now I live in a semi-hard water area with a deep well. Rig was bought from an area with even harder water.

I've looked at the hassle of salt water softener and also studied hard water conditioning which is a different technique.

After weeks of research, I decided to go with a Georgia company and install an electronic descaler water conditioner.

WOW.

Installing it was simple enough. I was lucky in that my basement provided a nearby 110 outlet which is critical since the unit  needs power. The first few weeks not much happened except it seemed like I detected a sulfur odor when I returned from an outing such as dog walking.

This might have been coincidental but this park does rely on a deep well for water and it might have been the conditioner kicking in.

A few weeks go by and the shower water starts feeling really rough! Like I am being spit at with sandy water. I soaked the shower head and other sink aerators in vinegar overnight to remove hard water build up. The sandy sensation didn't last long, but apparently this  descaler conditioner loosens up hard water deposits from the plumbing and moves them out.

Another few weeks go by and the sandy water went away and was replaced with super soft silky feeling water. I can feel and see the difference in my long hair. The washing machine is also making suds, not a lot but certainly more than before. I don't use softener with my clothes though I used to use vinegar in a downy ball auto releaser. However now, there is no need for that and I continue to dry my clothes without a softener sheet.

I was vigorously cleaning everything that had hard water stains. Now it's a breeze to keep things clean and hard water free. I wash my sink areas and then dry with a microfiber cloth. My sink and faucets look shiny new again. My volume of water has improved because the plumbing on this 25 year old rig is not clogged up with hard water deposits anymore.

I am THRILLED with my choice and find the price I paid of $149.99 to be entirely reasonable, given my fabulous results. If you are fed up with hard water problems, give this a try.

There are many systems on the market but I chose this Georgia company that specialized in water treatments.

iSpring ED2000 Whole House Electronic Descaler Water Conditioner

I also use an instant hot pot to make French press coffee. Normally this needs descaling often but since I put in this conditioner, it doesn't seem to need descaling anymore.

Honestly, I don't know why I waited so long to do this. The benefits are SO worth it!

I have long hair and what a difference with both my skin and my hair. The bath water feels different. I am a happy camper!  ;D

My question would be: How often do you have to empty all that scale that is removed?  ???

Oh, it all still goes right down the pipe as it always did, right?

VERY INTERESTING!  This is a new concept to me.

It seems, by the description, it knocks the Calcium  (Ca) out of solution, so a particulate filter after the unit may be a good idea.  This water with reduced Ca (no longer Ca saturated) can now dissolve Ca deposits (scale) in the water lines, which may come out as a sandy material.  It also softens Ca deposits on and around faucets.

This is in total agreement with what Miss Mermaid reported.

For folks with hard water, this sounds like a great idea, especially for the price and lack of maintenance required.

lynnmor said:

My question would be: How often do you have to empty all that scale that is removed?  ???

Oh, it all still goes right down the pipe as it always did, right?

Click to expand...

I wonder if a particulate filter on the output side would be beneficial...

I wonder how well one of these low cost descalers works in comparison to the iSpring and other products. Most of the reviews are positive, so at the price, I might give one a try...

https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Descaler-Decalcifier-Conditioner-Assembled/dp/B073ZCR723/

For drinking water, I use Berkey.

Requires no electricity or water pressure. Converts tap water to purified water.

Can filter any water such as well, river, lake, anything except salt water.

I love my Berkey because the taste is awesome. I use it for cooking, drinking, coffee, tea, ice etc.

I own the small "travel" Berkey whuch purifies about 6 quarts at a time. I store it in carafes and reusable stainless steel water bottles.

Edit: Removed affiliate link.

lynnmor said:

My question would be: How often do you have to empty all that scale that is removed?  ???

Oh, it all still goes right down the pipe as it always did, right?

Click to expand...

Over time the scale sticks to the inside of the plumbing pipes. The conditioner will eventually loosen it all up, sending it out and down the drain eventually. That is probably why the water felt sandy to me. This could take weeks or months.

Once it's all out, the conditioner continues to prevent any scaley buildup and the hard particles that used to stick to the plumbing, now just pass on through.

I am super pleased with the results. My dishes are easier to clean and I don't have hard water spots on them anymore.

As of this writing, I've been using mine for 10 weeks in a 25 year old 5th wheel. I guess it took awhile to clean out the pipes.  ;D

This is interesting and it works on the pipes throughout the house, distant is not an issue?

I would sure like to see a bench test done to see that it is actually working and how much scale is being removed. Not sure how it makes water softer but I have not read the info yet either. 

Without your testimony I would have said it is another snake oil scheme. If it works I would be interested in buying one for my house, water deposits all everywhere.

  We put one of these units on our incoming water line to the house so it would treat the whole house. Our well water is very hard. Lathering soap for a shower would barely happen and water spots on dishes, shower doors, and vehicles was ridiculous. When my better half told me she was going to purchase one of these things I was beyond skeptacle. It just sounded like one of those too good to be true things. It was simple to install and you don?t have to do any plumbing work or anything. Ours has been in service for a couple years. Is it as good as a softener? No. But the improvement in the water quality was dramatic. Like Missmermaid said, it took awhile for the positive affects to be noticeable, but it really does work. I would say I?m guessing the harder your water is, the more noticeable the improvement is.

Does it matter what brand or design to get?

TLRam1 said:

Does it matter what brand or design to get?

Click to expand...

If you think that wrapping wires around a water pipe will somehow make a difference in the quality of the water flowing thru, why not buy a spool of wire and roll your own?

Friend of mine has this tool called The Imploder which uses golden ration nozzle to add spin density to water to make it more soluable, silky like, reduces water tension, makes it piezoelectric (mineral content in hard water is great for this)and even says much more healthy, even healing. Plants grow like crazy. But I don't know how effective it would be solely for hard water solution.

  Prior owner of our sticks and bricks had a water softener installed with the house. After testing, we have really good well water (lucky) that has a type of hardness that softeners don't account for.  Calcium hardness is like 5ppm (very low) but what we have is silicates (100's of parts per million, don't recall). 

  In the end I bypassed the softener (why pay for potassium and waste water on the cleaning cycles if it is doing not much) and we live with the silicates.  Our fixtures are sensitive to them (fake bronzed oil style) but chrome, porcelain and out stainless steel don't care.  Other than collecting on heating plates (shortened life of water heaters) and our particular fixtures (the drain things in sinks) it is a non-issue.

Lots of things claim they fix what we have, reality in looking into it is ten of thousands of dollars to install something that would actually work.  So, we live with the minor build up on the drains and love our nice and soft showers with a bypassed water softener.

PS:  Not trying to say water softeners don't work - they do for sure.  Just an expense they did for a problems they didn't have.....

-Kyle