MicroPure H2O Systems
Reverse Osmosis and Water Softening
Albuquerque & Rio Rancho, NM El Paso,TX
(505)792-1226 (915)630-2365
Most Common Water Softening Q & A
Water Softeners & How They Work
For most of us, a home is our biggest, most valuable asset. Taking care of your can be costly and time consuming. Most of the things we purchase for our homes do not preserve or protect them. Conversely, the Hydro Quad Commercial Water Processor is an investment in your home that will save you time and money! This processing system protects against the damaging effects of hard water in 4 ways. Water has an effect on everything it touches … and water touches everything. Soft water shields your water using appliances and fixtures from hard water scale build-up, making them more efficient, thus allowing them to last longer…..much longer. A study done by New Mexico State University found that a water heater with hard water consumes 17% more BTU’s than soft water.
The process of water softening works by connecting all the water that enters your home to the Hydro Quad then is connected back into your home's plumbing. First: Half a cubic foot of activated carbon removes chlorine and other disinfection chemicals. Second: The incoming hard water then passes over the Ion-O-Lite C32M commercial softening resin. These resin beads are contained within the stainless steel protected resin tank. Water softener resin beads have a negative charge. Calcium and magnesium, which make water hard, have a positive charge and adhere to the resin beads when they pass over them. The Hydro Quad is guaranteed to soften water down to Zero SOFT for Life. Third: it passes over an Alumino-Silicate filter which even takes care of acidic water problems. Fourth: it runs over a quartz filter bed for even distribution over the entire resin bed.
When capacity is reached, your Hydro Quad will go through a regeneration or Back-Wash process, which will re-charge the resin beads. During this process, a strong brine solution of chloride dissolved in water and held in the brine tank, will be slowly introduced into the resin tank and will pass over the hardness saturated resin beads. This is fully automatic function. Finally, the water softener system will then go through a fast and settling rinse; the brine tank will re-fill with water and go back into service to start producing softened water again. This process continues over and over in the water softener. Many customers in the Albuquerque area have had their Hydro Quads for over 35 years.
Thousands of Chemicals vs. One Mechanical System
There are two ways to soften water - chemically and mechanically. Chemical water softening includes the use of phosphates and other compounds in soaps to treat the water so it can actually be used to clean. Without these chemicals, soap would be ineffective when used with hard water. Try using a "pure" soap with hard water and see what the result is. All of the detergents and soaps that you purchase have chemical water softeners in them. Buy thousands of chemicals over your lifetime or one HYDRO QUAD that will save you thousands.
The other option is to use a mechanical water softener. In this process, the hard water is passed through a water treatment system that actually removes the minerals in the water. Minerals are literally saturating the water…. Making it work against you. When these minerals are removed, detergents and soaps are more effective. There are several benefits to using a mechanical water softening system over chemically treating the water. Mechanical water softening eliminates the problem "hard water" whereas chemical water softeners merely "mask" the minerals in the water. Consequently, detergents and soaps do not rinse clean from your hair, skin, clothing, and dishes.
In short, you can soften your water for the rest of your life buying chemicals at the store or you can invest one time in a Hydro Quad Water Processor which makes water work for you.
EPA Hard Water Chart
As water falls to the earth, it percolates into the ground. As it is absorbed, it picks up minerals like calcium, magnesium, and lime. These 3 minerals make up what is traditionally referred to as "hardness" in water. Water hardness is measured in grains per gallon or parts per million. Water hardness above 7 grains per gallon is considered very hard, over 10.5 grains per gallon is considered extremely hard.
The water in the Albuquerque metro area is considered extremely hard water because the grains per gallon varies from 8-10 grains on average! Hard water is the most common water quality problem in the U.S. High water hardness causes scale and build-up in water heaters, eventually forming an insulation barrier inside, making water heaters inefficient because, before your water can be heated, the crusty build-up must be heated. Additionally, hard water builds up in components of washing machines and dishwashers. You may also notice soap scum residue in bathtubs, on shower doors, and on hair and skin. Furthermore, hard water causes soaps to be less effective, leaving clothing dingy and colors faded. Hard water is abrasive and "etches" dish ware, glasses, and silverware. Hard water also causes the fabrics in clothing to deteriorate quickly. The bottom line? Hard water costs you money!
The Sodium Free/Salt Free Myth
Several companies claim that you can enjoy soft water without using salt. Reputable testing agencies and independent research labs deduce that no conclusive evidence confirms these claims. Tests performed on various brands of "salt free water softeners" found no removal of water hardness or scale. Sadly, despite the test results, these deceptive claims have gained a greater audience in recent years.
Soft Water Benefits
Softened water enhances the quality of life throughout your home. Processed water protects your home by eliminating mineral build-up and scale in water heaters and appliances and by eliminating troublesome water spots and 'etching' of dishes and fixtures. The difference is evident in how your hair, skin, and clothes look and feel and in the performance and longevity of water-using appliances. Quality soft water improves the effectiveness of detergents, shampoo, and other soaps by 50 to 70 percent. Don’t just treat yourself to soft water treat yourself to completely processed water.
MicroPure is Albuquerque’s authorized distributor for Water Resources Int. Proudly serving Albuquerque, El Paso, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Corrales, Placitas, Bosque Farms, Belen, Los Lunas, and Edgewood.
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Convenient
• Cost effective
• Great tasting
• Continuous source of pure, water for
drinking & cooking
We can survive for a month without food but can only survive about four days
without water. Our bodies are made of 70% water and need water for life and
functioning. Water takes part in every function in our body. It is the
transporter of nutrients necessary for body functions. It works in digestion,
absorption, circulation and excretion. It improves the look of our hair, skin,
eyes and muscle tone. Studies have shown that drinking at least 5 glasses of
water a day reduces the risk of heart disease and contributes to total well being
of the body and mind.
While the importance of drinking enough water is well known, very few people
can stomach the taste and odor of tap water. Tap water often contains sediment,
metals, bacteria, and viruses that can counteract the benefits of drinking
water, thus it becomes necessary to purify the water before using it for
cooking or drinking.
The cost of bottled water has grown exponentially since the early nineties and
it is not uncommon to see a family spending 50 dollars a month on bottled
water. That equates to $600 a year on a limited supply of water, not to mention
the many inconvenient trips out to buy it.
Store bought filters are also not the ideal solution for hard water. The low
quality store bought filters are not rated to handle the quality of water in Benalillo
or El Paso counties, and some often add contaminates to the water.
MicroPure recommends reverse osmosis filtration as the most cost effective
solution that yields the highest quality water available.
Reverse
Osmosis Filtration
The reverse osmosis water purifier protects you from the harmful effects of
lead, heavy metals, chlorine, chemical contaminants, pesticides, pathogens,
bacteria, virus, and even radioactive materials.
RO is the most convenient and effective method of water filtration. It filters
water by squeezing water through a semi-permeable membrane, which is rated at
0.0001 micron (equals to 0.00000004 inch!). This is the technology used to make
(only the purest, but not all) bottled water, it is also the only technology
capable of desalinating sea water, making it into drinking water.
Non-RO water filters are much less effective, and the pore size on these filter
media are much bigger, generally 0.5 - 10 micron. They can filter out coarse
particles, sediments and elements only up to their micron rating. Anything
finer and most dissolved substances cannot be filtered out. As a result, water
is far less clean and safe compared to reverse osmosis filtration.
What is Reverse Osmosis?
Reverse Osmosis, also known as Ultra-Filtration by the industry, represents
state-of-the-art in water treatment technology. Reverse Osmosis
(RO) was developed in the late 1950's under U.S. Government funding, as a
method of desalinating sea water. Today, reverse osmosis has earn its name as
the most convenient and thorough method to filter water. It is used by most
water bottling plants, and by many industries that require ultra-refined water
in manufacturing. Now this advanced technology is available to homes and
offices for drinking water filtration.
How
It Works
In short, it is the process by which water molecules are forced through a
0.0001 micron semi-permeable membrane by water pressure. Long sheets of the
membrane are ingeniously sandwiched together and rolled up around a hollow
central tube in a spiral fashion. This rolled-up configuration is commonly
referred to as a spiral wound membrane or module. They are available in
different sizes for processing different quantities of water. Typically, a
module for home water treatment is as small as 2" diameter and 10"
long, while one for industrial use may be 4" diameter and 40" long.
For the membrane to be usable it must be in some type of container (membrane housing)
so pressure can be maintained on its surface. It is this pressure that supplies
the energy to force the water through the membrane, separating it from unwanted
substances. The most amazing aspect of RO is that the substances left behind
are automatically diverted to a waste drain so they don't build up in the
system as with conventional filtering devices. This is accomplished by using a
part of the unprocessed water (feed water) to carry away the rejected
substances to the drain, thus keeping the membrane clean. This is the reason to
why RO membranes can last so long and perform like new with minimum maintenance
even after years of operation.
