Limescale inhibitors are
either electric or magnetic which will change how the minerals
in hard water can combine with other substances. Limescale
occurs because minerals like calcium and magnesium combine to
form a wall on water pipes. This wall circles the pipe
building up until water flow is highly restricted. It
can even become so restricted that the pipe becomes clogged
and water cannot make it through until the pipes are replaced.
Limescale inhibitors will stop the minerals from forming the
limescale ring in the pipes to allow the water to move through
unobstructed.
Limescale inhibitors do
not remove these ions from the water. Instead they change
the chemical composition back to its normal flow. Let’s
take a moment to explain this. Water flows from the ground
through river beds and streams, collecting minerals at it goes.
When it reaches your pipe the ions or minerals are happy to
keep on flowing, but as the water heats up these ions begin
to form the limescale because they combine. In other words
they changed their chemical makeup due to a heat response.
It is simple chemistry. By altering the water with an
electrical or magnetic current the ions are broken apart, so
that they may again flow through the pipes instead of adhering
to other properties.
Now that you know what limescale
inhibitors do, we can look more closely at what they are.
They are a device that comes in three forms. You have
the water conditioner which is the least effective product for
limescale inhibitors. They are powered with electricity
or magnetic properties, but on a small scale.
Limescale inhibitors like
the descaler are electromagnetic. It combines both electricity
and magnetism, which allows the ions to be broken apart more
easily. Once the water has been treated it will flow through
the house. Water will remain treated for 72 hours before
the powers of the electromagnetic force dwindle.
The last type of limescale
inhibitors are the water softeners. Water softeners are large
pieces of equipment which get to the water when it enters the
house. The water is placed in a storage tank with a resin.
This resin can be sodium chloride which breaks the ions down.
The clean water is then passed out of the tank and sent through
the house. The minerals are still in the water, but they
will not combine with other elements.
Water softeners are expensive
and require maintenance. You will have to go through a
regeneration process, change out filters, and basically keep
up with the system to avoid dysfunction. A water descaler
requires no maintenance. It will continue working because
the water does not flow through the system in the same way as
it does in the softener. The descaler has coils that wrap
around the pipes instead. These coils break down the water
and allow it to flow through the house. You will notice
immediate benefits and other benefits appear over time as you
use the limescale inhibitors.