Lime Scale Removal

[bobcat]

Guys , need some input and suggestions here . House/garage is on a well and I`m having a problem with limescale/calcium particles clogging the aerators and filters on the water lines . When I clean them out the stuff is hard white particles that sort of looks like white sand . Had it analyzed and it`s definitely lime/calcium deposits . What is funny is that it`s only in the hot water pipes/lines . The cold water is appears clean . ( hot water probably accelerates the reaction/formation ), i.e. no hard deposits .
Well company says the only thing to clean it up is a treatment system that uses salts . Other than that , the water is great . Looking at the analysis , the calcium is 51 mg/l , hardness is 7.6 and pH is 8.2. Just a little concerned about the salt ( sodium chloride ) as the better half is on a salt restricted diet ... any worries on that ?
I`m on a septic system , but in this county , we can run the back flush out separately as it`s considered gray water .
Are any systems that are better than others and anything in particular I need to look for ?

FYI , I did try the Eddy electronic descaler and it actually partially worked .... ,but didn`t stop the all the deposits from forming .... and they honored their 1 year satisfaction warranty with no questions !

 

[Falcon67]

You need a house sized water softener, like a Culligan or similar. When we lived on a well in north Texas the water was so hard you could drive a nail in it. It also carried a sulfur smell and turned the inside of the pipes black. I found a deal on a big Culligan softener and it cured all the issues. It's an ion exchange as I recall, it does NOT make the water particularly salty. There are many vendors of salt brine type systems.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-water-softeners-wo/

 

[L5wolvesf]

I have a very similar situation here - hard water from our well, water tastes great so we don't want to change that. I had a friend who changed out his salt based softener based or a Dr's low salt diet suggestion, but I don't recall what it was changed to. I want a whole house system too since it mucks up everything the water touches. So I don't have a recommendation at this point either. My guess would be a system that keeps the minerals from coming out of solution as I believe the minerals aren't "bad" for you.

What do you mean by the Eddy electronic descaler partially worked?

 

[Boilerhouse]

No specific advise - just general info here. Calcium and magnesium salts, usually clorides, carbonates and sulphates, cause hardness. These salts tend to precipitate out. This is what causes the white deposits. A softener replaces the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium. Sodium is very soluble and does not tend to precipitate out. 51 mg/l calcium hardness is moderate. I tend to be concerned when the total hardness is over a 100. (I do not understand the hardness reading of 7.6 - it should be 51 or higher when you account for any magnesium hardness)

 

[73RR]

There are plenty of snake-oil systems on the market but the salt systems are the oldest design and truly the best efficiency. Really good units will be the best long term solution.
I'd suggest looking at 'meter' based flushed system, not a timer. The timer will flush the system regardless of the water volume having passed through and this wastes material.

 

[bobcat]

Thanks for the info .Boilerhouse , I converted the hardness to ppm . In mg/L it`s 130 .
Agreed that there are a lot of claims out there , and the salt systems have the longest track record . Just wondered if technology had moved on and if anything better was available .
When I said the Eddy unit partially worked , it did reduce the limescale somewhat , but didn`t eliminate it . I still had to clean aerators and stainers out on a regular basis .

Currently looking at Culligan and Fleck units .

 

[ms fowler]

Are there drawbacks to the salt-brine systems? Are there legitimate health concerns over introducing salt into the water? taste issues?
I have great tasting well water with high magnesium hardness issues. Also--house is on a crawl space so where to locate is an issue. I would hate having to go under the house every few weeks to recharge the salt. I do have a large closet almost directly above the well's pressure tank and controls, so that might work out.

 

[rattle_snake]

The amount of salt in soft water should be minimal and hardly detectable. The salt is just used to clean the membrane, and if the system is set up correctly shouldn't be an issue.

If a whole house system is used, it is still possible to have hard water available as well. I have provision for both depending on what I use the water for.

The Fleck systems are pretty popular and resold at high markup by many companies.

 

[Radix2]

The other thing you can do if you are super sodium sensitive is to use a reverse osmosis or de-ionizing filter just for your drinking water - a simple way to do it is one of the jugs like Brita that go in the frig - many have both carbon filtration and DI filtering that will remove any last residues.