Where does scale come from?
Industrial washing machines have heating elements – heating elements – that heat the water to the required temperature for washing or cleaning. But few have seen them after 1.5-2 years of operation, as they are hidden from the eyes of users. In reality, scale forms on them. Almost the same as in kettles, only in larger quantities. There
would be no problem if the water was free of impurities. The water that flows from the tap in any city in the world contains a lot of foreign inclusions. Water hardness is determined by the content of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts in it. But scale is formed when hard water is heated.
What are the negative effects of water hardness during washing?
1. We use more detergents to achieve the usual effect.
The surface tension of water, which increases due to additional hardness, requires more powder during washing.
2. We pay more for electricity. More
electricity is required to heat the water, provided that there is an impressive layer of thermal insulation between it and the metal.
3. We repair equipment more often and at higher prices.
Scale on a very important part of the inside of the machine reduces the service life - the machine can break down at the first opportunity, for example, with a voltage drop in the network. Repairing the heating element costs from 20 to 30% of the cost of the machine, taking into account that nothing except the heating element is damaged.
The electronics of the machine can burn out for good measure.
4. We reduce the service life of the laundry.
The laundry becomes encrusted with solid particles of sediment, as a result of which the original whiteness (or brightness of colors) of the fabric is lost. This process also leads to further waste of detergents and a reduction in the life of the fabric.
Where is the solution to this problem?
Using filters. Solving the problem through ion exchange resins and reverse osmosis is quite expensive in price and complexity of maintenance, but effective.
The two most accessible ways to combat scale are chemical and physical.
Physical way.
Magnetic water converters can help prevent scale. The principle is simple: water passes through a magnetic field. The resonance caused by the special arrangement of magnets leads to close interaction of water particles with impurity particles. In this case, hardly soluble calcium and magnesium carbonates do not form on the surface of the heating element. Harmful substances remain in the water and are carried out with it into the drainage. Over time, old scale loosens and is completely washed out from the surface of the heating elements.
Chemical path.
Many companies – manufacturers of detergents and additives – have followed this path. When washing, they recommend adding a certain substance – water softeners (for example, sodium tripolyphosphate ) – together with the powder. A chemical reaction occurs, as a result – poorly soluble calcium carbonate decomposes into components that do not form scale. This is a completely logical and obvious solution – to destroy calcium carbonate during chemical contact and obtain a cleaner heating element as a result.
The advantages of this method are obvious: it is cheap, a pack of supplements will cost from 4 to 8 dollars. You can not only prevent the formation of scale, but also remove the existing one.
