The Modern Home
Water-Softeners
IN any district where the water is hard, water-softeners may be said to be very near the line dividing luxuries from necessaries ; but there are circumstances in which they obviously cross the line and should be regarded as belonging definitely to the latter class. Householders who find them- selves obliged to renew expensive boilers unduly often, or worse still; those who are faced with the more troublesome business of. replacing hot-water pipes, may ask themielves whether it might not have been an economy to have fitted a water-softener at the outset and, at the cost of almost nothing for running expenses save a little trouble, to have been spared till possibility of such' trials. Again, there seems no diVision of medical opinion that those who have any tendency to gouty (if this is not too expensive in these days) or rheumatic complaints; pr the many ills traced to constipation, can do much to avoid aggravating and even to ameliorate thein by drinking 'gat water only. Sometimes one hears the query hazarded as to whether it may not be " agin Ndtur' and therefore unwise to reduce the lime content in our drinking- water —pecially, perhaps, in the case of the young; who need lime to assist in the formation of bones and teeth.'. The reply to this is that there should. be a sufficiency of lime for these purposes in our solid foods • and that, in any case; it is extremely doubtful whether lime taken in • any other -form than that of a phosphate (Whereas thatin water is commonly carbonate or sulphate) can be assimilated by the bOdy for the purposes of building up bone tissue.
The instances I have given are extreme cases -where it is obvious that water-softeners should be fitted. So far as the first is concerned, the cost of installation may easily be less than that of one boiler and will certainly be less than that of new pipes; while, where the second applies, nothing can lie too touch -to pay for the preservation of health. But in the majority of homes the case for soft water is less obvious, or at least less urgent. I am presuming that the majority If people will consider it desirable, though they may have relegated it to the class of unjustifiable luxuries. It should be of interest to investigate its economies as well as its advantages and see how far It is capable of paying its way out of that class. Those who prefer hard water for drinking may still read on, since there is one method of softening water which has not the slightest effect on the taste—or a tap for drinking purposes may be left on the main..
The trouble and expense of renewing boilers or pipes has Lem] mentioned already and perhaps this point only deserves consideration where the water is exceptionally bard ; but here is another source of expense which is much less obvious, though none the less real, in the steady tax levied by waste of fuel. Boiler scale is an extremely bad conductor of heat and, by the time a coat has been formed a quarter of an inch thick, a ton and a half of fuel is required to do the work that could be dune by one ton in a clean boiler. The frequency with which a boiler has to be scaled or renewed, however, does not depend entirely on the hardness of the water-supply. A considerable variation can be traced to the way in which it is stoked. Generally speaking, little scale is formed until the temperature reaches one hundred and fifty degrees, after which it is deposited with increasing rapidity. If, therefore, in stoking, care can be taken to avoid heating the water unduly, something is done to lengthen the life of the boiler, while the water is still quite hot enough for domestic purposes. But this must always be something of a counsel of perfection with a hand-fired boiler—particularly where the last stoke at night is concerned : only with soft water can all deposition of scale or fur be avoided. In this event the amount to be saved on fuel may represent a con- siderable sum in a few years. To this can be added economies in soap and soda of approximately fifty per cent. ; in tea and coffee of something like twenty per cent. Laundry work mills for a good deal less rubbing and boiling ; and this means less wear and longer life for the fabrics concerned. It is astonishing to what a large stun of money these apparently rivial items amount.
Domestic water-softeners are of two types : the first very generally known through the wide advertising of various makers, the second much less so, although it has been on the market for a number of years. The first consists of a metal cylinder containing a mineral base (usually including Soda, alumina and silica) through which the water-supply is passed, thereby losing or changing those mineral constituents which caused its hardness. When a certain amount of water has been so softened, the filtering medium becomes inert and has to be regenerated. The frequency with, which this has to be done depends on the amount of water. that has passed through : as a rule the size of apparatus fitted is so adjusted to the average consumption that regeneration is curried out once a week. The process, which is ,quite simple, tonsists in introducing a certain quantity- of oommon salt, •
either dry or, in some models, as brine, and allowing it to, pass through the mineral base and drain away. The whole. operation takes only a few minutes and can be done by' the average domestic servant. If it is neglected, and water, constantly silloived to pass through, the mineral base may be permanently injured ; but a by-pass is generally fitted by which the whole apparatus can be thrown out, of action. The prices of water-softeners of this type start at about £1210s. for a model suitable for a household of two or three people, to which must be added about £5 for Phuither's charges in making time necessary connexions. For large houses softening- plants can be obtained which regenerate automatically. The second method is by what is called -the " Etherium Treatment." At first sight this appears more like alchemy than anything else, since the chemical composition of the water is not altered in the slightest. Briefly, the treatment is effected by hanging one or more sealed metal containers, each about the size of a one pound jam jar, in the cold-water cistern supplying the boiler. These are called " activators " and contain a radio-active substance which .in about two hours restores to the water the radio-activity.that it contained when it first came. out of the ground, bathes lost since, on its journey through pipes and reservoirs. The most obvious effect on the water is that, when heated, instead of forming a hard scale on the boiler and pipes, the mineral constituents are deposited in a soft powder, fine enough to be carried along by the flow or to be swilled out of the boiler if and when cleaning does become necessary. As drinking-water it offers similar advantages, since the extraneous minerals are more easily thrown out of the system in this form-than as they occur in hard water. " Ethe- thn " is a very economical method of softening. The active- tors are hired out at a fixed suns per annum, which includes their replacement every six months as they become exhausted, The cost for one activator (which may be enough for a house- hold) is £1 5s. per annum, and 15s. for additional ones. As drinking-water is usually taken off the main and not allowed to pass through any cistern, it follows that it misses the benefits of the treatment. To rectify this, earthenware vessels can be bought, into which an activator is fitted. These are filled from the main as necessary and all water for drinking taken from them. 'Those who dislike the taste of ordinary soft water may note that by this method the flavour is not
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