Soft Water During Hard Times

During this ongoing pandemic, the last thing anyone wants is water damage to their property. Many municipalities in Ontario provide “hard water” to their residents, which is a term that means that the water supply contains high concentrations of dissolved minerals, specifically calcium and magnesium. To avoid the staining and the scale accumulation that hard water causes, individuals and businesses often incorporate water softeners into their plumbing systems.

Water softeners often consist of a resin tank (filled with resin beads) and a brine tank. Hard water enters at the top of the water softener tank and flows down through the resin beads. As the water percolates through the resin beads, ion exchange occurs. The negatively charged resin beads attract the positively charged minerals (the calcium and magnesium) and exchange them for sodium ions, removing the undesired minerals from your water supply. The now soft water flows out of the softener tank providing softened water throughout the house. This process continues overtime and the concentration of sodium in the resin tank is depleted and the resin beads can no longer remove the minerals from the water.

A process called regeneration is used to replenish the concentration of sodium ions in the resin tank. Brine (a solution of water and salt) prepared in the brine tank is run through the resin beads. Ion exchange occurs again this time replacing the undesired minerals that were removed from the water supply with sodium ions. These undesired minerals are then flushed out of the resin tank and down the drain. The water softener has been regenerated and is once again ready to soften hard water.

We have investigated a number of water softeners that have failed due to installation deficiencies, manufacturing defects, maintenance issues, and user error. All of the losses have resulted in significant damage to property and many of the losses would have been avoided if the water softener and brine tank had been installed correctly.

Brine tanks are often equipped with an overflow gravity drain that must be connected to the nearest floor drain in order to prevent the brine tank from overfilling if the brine valve fails. Failure to properly install the overflow gravity drain is an installation deficiency and is a possible subrogation avenue. Check your brine tank today to make sure that your overflow protection is properly connected. The typical location of a brine tank overflow gravity drain is indicated in Figure 1.

We specialize in determining the cause of plumbing appliance failures, such as, but not limited to: water softeners, water heaters, washing machines, dishwashers, and sump pumps.

Let us assist you in determining the cause of water loss claims and if subrogation is an option for you.

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