|
In order to understand the science behind Nauti-Clear™ systems, it first important to understand how hard water can affect drinking water and cause spotting on all types of surfaces:
What is Hard Water?
When water is referred to as 'hard' this simply means that it contains more minerals than ordinary water. Commonly found in coastal and mountain areas, minerals such as magnesium and calcium can slowly destroy pipes, appliances, finishes, and holding tanks. Build up in pipes and appliances due to an insulating layer of calcium and magnesium makes operation inefficient, and as a result can corrode more rapidly, eventually requiring replacement.
When combined with soap, hard water forms soap "curd," visibly seen as soap scum on glass, finishes, and brightwork. Magnesium and calcium are positively charged ions. Because of their presence, other positively charged ions will dissolve easier in hard water than in water that does not contain calcium and magnesium. The effectiveness of soap is greatly diminished due to the fact that it cannot dissolve, thus creating less cleaning power. These minerals, along with other insoluble contaminants in hard water, actually trap dirt and soap as curd, ending up as spots on surfaces that have been left to dry.
Hard water can make food and drinks taste funny. But what soap curd does to the body is even more harmful. It clogs pores and prevents natural oils from moisturizing the skin, causing dryness and itching, while aggravating skin conditions such as acne and psoriasis.
What are Water Softeners?
Water softening is a technique that effectively processes the removal of the ions causing hard water. Iron ions may also be removed during the softening process. Most water softeners use salt as a "replacement" for the hard minerals, but in a marine environment where salt is already detrimentally present in large amounts, this solution is not desirable for a true spotless rinse and healthy drinking water.
A water softener collects hardness minerals within its conditioning tank using a process called ion exchange, whereas the calcium and magnesium ions are replaced in the water with other ions, for instance sodium or potassium. When an ion exchanger is applied for water softening, the exchanged ions are added to the ion exchanger reservoir as sodium and potassium salts (NaCl and KCl) [see diagram below]. From time to time, the excess hard minerals and salt must be flushed and drained away. In an application of limited space, such as onboard a water craft, this can be difficult. To see how Nauti-Clear™ Pure Water Solutions compare to other systems, click here.
If you are interested in purchasing a Nauti-Clear™ unit for your own watercraft, contact Nauti-Clear here. If you are interested in becoming a Distributor for Nauti-Clear™ products, click here.
|
implications.
