Knowledge

Removing limescale from drinking water and softening tap water

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Removing limescale from drinking water and softening tap water
Knowledge

Whether you need water softening or descaling in your household does not depend solely on the hardness of your water. In other words, just because the water in your area is hard or contains a lot of lime does not automatically mean a water softening system is worthwhile for you.

Health concerns about hard water or water containing calcium are entirely unfounded. What is commonly referred to as “calcified arteries” has nothing to do with the calcium ingested in drinking water from the tap. On the contrary, our bodies need minerals for vital functions. Any excess is simply excreted without causing harm.

02 / Knowledge

The purpose of water softening, or “Water is for washing”

01 /Bathroom tap

A simple question helps you decide whether water softening is worthwhile: Why do you want to install a water softener? What do you want to achieve?

If the answer is “to have less lime in the water” or “to get soft water”, you can safely do without it. After all, you do not buy a washing machine because you enjoy doing laundry, but because you need clean clothes. Having more or less lime in your tap water does not, in itself, harm you in your household.

Investing in water treatment only pays off once you are worried that limescale will damage your pipes, boiler or appliances, that is, when the (potential) damage is greater than the cost of the water treatment.

03 / Descaling water ≠ Descaling tap water

Descaling water ≠ Descaling tap water

Calcium enters the house with the tap water and, in an ideal world, leaves the house with the water again. Since things are not always perfect, this rarely happens. In practice, water constantly changes direction, speed and temperature as it moves through the house, leaving a thin trail of deposits. It is quite simple: wherever water is heated or evaporates, limescale remains. For example, in the boiler or kettle, on the tap, or on walls and fittings after a shower.

The problem is therefore not the calcium in the water, but the limescale in the pipe: the limescale that settles, forms crusts and leaves stains.

04 / Problem identified, problem solved

Problem identified, problem solved

So you have two options. First, you could filter the lime out of the water or convert it. As mentioned, this means buying a water softening system. There are countless suppliers. The units are usually complex and require maintenance or regular topping up with regeneration salt.

Second, you could prevent the limescale from settling in the pipe, regardless of how much lime the water contains. This is, in a sense, an elegant way to treat your tap water.

This means you do not need a large descaling system, but still achieve a comparable result.

05 / What does Merus have to do with this?

What does Merus have to do with this?

We do not offer you a descaler or softener for your tap water. But we do have a solution for almost every water-related problem. Are your fittings, pipes and kettle covered in limescale? Does your coffee machine need frequent descaling? The Merus Ring can provide a comparatively simple and affordable remedy, even when water hardness is high. Do you have an old house with brown drinking water coming out of the tap? Our method also reduces corrosion in the pipes, and the water gradually becomes clear again.

06 / What next?

What next?

If you are interested in the solution we have been using to solve water-related problems for more than 25 years, please contact us personally. Because our Merus Ring is so easy to install, you can start a four-week trial at any time to see its effect in your own home. The trial is, of course, free, and you need not worry about annoying follow-up calls from us. We promise.

If you would prefer to read a little more about what we do, how we do it and where, please continue exploring our website.

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