ᐅ How to descale with 44° dH water hardness

Created on: 19 Oct 2019 16:44
K
Kiki_
Hi!
We are looking for a water softening system that suits our needs.

The main issue is the water hardness of 44.1 degrees dH,
Sodium is at 34.5 mg/L.

Originally, we planned to use an ion exchanger because we thought the hardness was 32 degrees dH and that we would reduce it to 12, which is not ideal but acceptable for us.
However, we can only reduce it by about 20 degrees dH and still end up with 24 degrees dH, which I consider quite high.
Grünbeck has now recommended adding phosphates to bind the limescale. This would easily cost over €1/m3 for the mineral solution.

What other options are there that don’t involve gimmicks?
Carbon filter?
Reverse osmosis?
Other ideas?
And above all: how do the ongoing costs compare?

We have 3 bathrooms, expect 5–6 people living in the house, and honestly have higher water consumption. So the system must be able to handle a fairly high flow rate.

Thanks in advance for any advice on what direction to consider!
K
Kiki_
21 Oct 2019 17:18
@hampshire
What roughly does “adding a lot” mean in kilograms? I’m interested in how much, how often, and for how many people...
H
hampshire
21 Oct 2019 18:12
We do not have a steady state yet, 4 people. The first 25kg (55 lbs) lasted for 3 months.
B
benediktr
21 Oct 2019 18:47
Kiki_ schrieb:

We live in Lower Franconia, a beautiful area with a lot of shell limestone in the ground...

Am I correct in assuming that you are from the Würzburg area?
Y
Yosan
21 Oct 2019 19:10
Wow... until just now, I didn’t even know there were such water hardness levels in Germany. It’s quite surprising that this is sometimes even considered drinking water. Good luck with finding the right system! Hopefully, you’ll find something that works and isn’t too expensive.
K
Kiki_
21 Oct 2019 19:58
@hampshire
Thanks for the information, so my rough estimate for salt usage is at least somewhat accurate...
benediktr schrieb:

Am I correct in assuming you are from the Würzburg area?

Correct

@Yosan
Thanks! I will keep you updated!
There are definitely solutions, but they tend to be quite costly, especially regarding ongoing expenses.
M
michert
21 Oct 2019 20:03
We are also from the area around Wü.. and soften the water only from 22 to 8. It wouldn’t make sense to go any further anyway, as we would otherwise exceed the sodium limit. At a level close to the limit, like we have now, I wouldn’t use this water for preparing baby food, for example. What I mean is: if you want to drink the water, you can’t just keep “adding salt” as you please.

Edit: Sorry, you already know that. I overlooked your next post.