Lime scale deposits cause a number of problems:
- shortening the life of washing machines and dish washers
- destroying heating elements in kettles and hot water storage tanks
- leaving unsightly stains on utensils and draining boards
- clogging shower heads.
Scale Prevention Solutions
Finding ways to prevent these problems is important to home owners, and businesses that claim to provide solutions proliferate. Many are legitimate and offer proven, effective water softening systems. Others use pseudo-scientific jargon to persuade gullible individuals to purchase devices that purport to provide a solution. In reality there is no proven scientific basis for such claims.
Faced with a choice between paying out several hundreds of dollars, euro or sterling to buy a conventional residential water softener followed by the ongoing cost of replacing salt and/or other chemicals on the one hand or around fifty of your local currency unit for a “fit and forget” device … well it looks like a no brainer. But is it?
Magnetic Water Softeners
Magnetic water softeners claim to work by altering the nature of the minerals dissolved in the water thereby reducing or eliminating their tendency to deposit on surfaces with which the water comes into contact. One such device advertised in quality Sunday newspaper supplements in the UK at the beginning of 2011 says on the supplier’s website that the device applies “a very small charge to the calcium, magnesium and carbonates that naturally occur [causing] them to temporarily form larger (but still microscopic) crystal strutures that are too large to adhere to your pipes or in your appliances.” (Brytawater website, accessed 3 January 2011.)
If it really was possible to eliminate the tendency of waterborne minerals to deposit on surfaces without actually removing the minerals from the water then there are clear health benefits. Most of the minerals in hard water are beneficial – their presence is a major reason for purchasing bottled spring water.
Cheap Water Softeners
Given their relatively low initial cost and zero running cost a strong case can be made for buying such a device and monitoring its performance on a house owner’s water supply over a short period to assess if there is a reduction in lime scale deposits. But be aware that there is no scientific basis for the manufacturers' claims.
As Stephen Lower points out in the introduction to his comprehensive debunking of magnetic pseudo-science “Although magnetic water treatment (MWT) products have been promoted since the 1930's, they have not received very wide acceptance within the engineering community, and the question of whether or not they are effective is still very much open.” (Magnetic water treatment pseudo-science, accessed 3 January 2011.)
Disclaimer: Neither Frank Parker nor Suite101 has any connection with the business, Brytawater, referred to in this article.
Frank Parker - Frank writes regularly on a diverse range of subjects which he researches thoroughly.
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