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Answers to questions about Limescale
1. What is hard water?
65% to 70% of the world's population drink and use 'hard' water. Hard water is caused by minerals being absorbed into the water as it passes through the ground. This 'hard' water then results in limescale build up as those mineral deposits collect on the inside of pipes and appliances such as boilers and washing machines.
2. How is Hard Water Measured?
Hard water is measured by the amount of calcium and magnesium salts in your water. This is expressed in the UK as parts per million (ppm) as follows:
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Soft |
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0 - 50 ppm |
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Moderately Soft |
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50 - 100 ppm |
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Slightly Hard |
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100 - 150 ppm |
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Moderately Hard |
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150 - 200 ppm |
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Hard |
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200 - 300 ppm |
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Very Hard |
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Over -300 ppm |
3. How do I know how hard my water is?
In terms of measurement, your water provider will advise how hard your supply is - or you could use a simple colour test strip. These are available through plumbers' merchants. The most visible sign of limescale in your home is usually the kettle, where you would see clumps of scale in the water or baked onto the element.
4. What is the difference between a Scale inhibitor and a Water Softener?
A water softener uses chemicals and an ion exchange mechanism to remove the hard salts from your supply. Softened water is not considered suitable for drinking in all circumstances, so a separate tap for drinking water should be installed.
Scale inhibitors (a term covering a range of technologies) do not remove hard salts or soften the water. Instead, they prevent the salts settling on surfaces to form limescale. Hard water is considered beneficial to drink because the body needs calcium and magnesium salts in the diet.
5. How do Scale Inhibitors work?
Scale inhibitors work by changing the behaviour and structure of the hard salts in the water, so that instead of settling to form limescale in pipes and on heating elements, they cling together and are flushed through the water system.
Any deposits that are left of these softer, clumped salts can be easily wiped away with a damp cloth.
6. Where should a Scale Inhibitor be fitted?
Positioning depends on the type of inhibitor. Some types (e.g. Scalegon) are designed to protect single appliances and should be connected directly to the appliance. Scale inhibitors designed to provide whole-house protection (Microwave, Waterwave) should be positioned as close to the incoming water mains as possible, before the pipework divides to serve different areas of the house.
7. How do polyphosphate dosing devices work?
Polyphosphate is a tried and tested scale reducing agent that has the additional advantage of forming a protective film on surfaces to provide ongoing protection against scale. Salamander's proportional dosing ensures that polyphosphates are always maintained at the correct levels, giving longer life for the crystal cartridge.
8. How do electronic scale inhibitors work?
Electronic scale inhibitors use a neat and compact high frequency signal generator to generate square waves in a random waveform that have been proven to deter limescale formation and help breakdown existing limescale deposits throughout the system.
9. What results can I expect?
Results are affected by:
i. The quality of water supplied i.e. hardness etc.
ii. The design of the appliances being protected.
For example, a kettle is more likely to scale up because small amounts of water are boiled in a short space of time and the water and scale salts are contained inside the kettle.
Untreated limescale is very hard and clings to surfaces very strongly, making it difficult to remove. Scale from treated water is soft and does not cling to surfaces, so it can be tipped or wiped away.
10. Is the water still safe to drink?
Yes, treated water is perfectly safe to drink and, because the salts remain in the water, it still offers all of the dietary benefits of hard water.
11. Are there any maintenance or running costs?
Most of Salamander's scale inhibitors are designed to be 'Fit and Forget' Electronic units consume £2.00 to £3.00 worth of electricity a year and Scalgon/Aquacare units require new filter cartridges every six months.
12. How long do they last?
All of our products have been designed to last at least 10 years.
13. My system is unprotected and already scaled up. What should I do?
Ideally, you should try to protect appliances from the time they are installed. If your boiler scales up within six months you will be faced with unwelcome expenses as the manufacturers do not always cover this in their guarantees.
Appliances can be descaled using Salamander's Corrosion Guard Limescale Remover and your central heating system can be power flushed using Salamander's Corrosion Guard Fast Cleanse.
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Answers to questions about Water Filters
1. Do I need a water filter?
This is very much a matter of personal taste. UK water authorities deliver water to your main stopcock in a state that is fit for human consumption and are under an obligation to do so. Water in the UK is supplied to a high standard, compared to many other countries around the world.
However, some people do not like the taste and odour of chlorine that is used in the water disinfection process. The Aquamaster range has elements capable of filtering water down to 1 micron (invisible to the human eye), to remove chlorine, impurities and heavy metals that may be present in your supply. It also avoids the need to store and carry bottled water - as your fresh filtered water is now on tap.
2. Do I need a plumber to install the unit?
All Aquamaster units come complete with full fitting instructions and use a self-drilling tap (which means you do not have to turn off your water supply). If you normally take on DIY tasks then you should have no problem installing your Aquamaster.
3. How long does the filter last?
Filter elements require changing on a regular basis to maintain performance and avoid clogging of the filter. The industry-recognized average lifespan is six months and Waterfiltersonline provides a free reminder service.
4. Is it easy to change the filter element?
The filter housings have been designed with a removable bracket to allow for easy replacement of filters. All you need is access to the housing beneath your sink.
5. Will I still get scale in my kettle?
Your kettle is particularly vulnerable to scaling as you are taking a small amount of water up to boiling point in a relatively quick time (scale forms as hard water is heated). Choose the Aquamaster Pearl or Diamond with scale reduction cartridge to inhibit scale in your kettle. Depending on the hardness of your supply some loose deposits may still be visible. It is recommended that you use fresh water each time your kettle is boiled.
6. Which unit should I choose?
There are 3 units in our range - Diamond, which is our top of the range filter, Pearl and Mini.
The 'Diamond' works by passing a flow of fresh water through a bed of filter material, which has the ability to absorb a variety of unwanted chemicals etc. The filter goes to work immediately it is installed and will work in an efficient manner for many years, giving trouble free operation.
The 'Pearl' works by passing a flow of fresh water through a bed of filter material together with the use of polyphosphate within the filter media. It has the ability to absorb a variety of unwanted chemicals etc. The filter goes to work immediately it is installed and will work in an efficient manner for many years, giving trouble free operation.
The 'Mini' is an entry level water filter that works by passing a flow of fresh water through a filter medium. It has the ability to absorb a variety of unwanted chemicals, including hydro-carbons and agricultural chemicals etc. The filter goes to work immediately it is installed and will work in an efficient manner for many years, giving trouble free operation.
Why choose the Aquamaster Diamond instead of the Pearl? If your main concern is to reduce bacteria then you should choose the Diamond for its fine filtration down to 1 micron.
7. What is the difference between a ceramic and a non ceramic refill?
Ceramic filter to 1 micron whereas the non-ceramic filter to 5 microns. Filtering to 1 micron allows them to filter waterborne cysts as well as bacteria.
8. Filter options
Filter
Code |
Media
Used |
Features and
Items Filtered |
Properties |
| BGC/C10 Ceramic (Diamond) |
Silver impregnated granular activated carbon inside a 1µM ceramic cartridge casing. |
Cysts, 99% Bacteria, 75-85% THMs, 95% of Organic Pesticides, 90-95% Solvents, PAHs, Turbidity, Colour, Chlorine, Taste, Odour. |
All waterborne cysts and 95% of all bacteria down to 0.7 µM stopped on the ceramic surface. Silver acts as a bacteriacide, killing any bacteria in the media when water flow is at or below system rating. When water is still, silver effect disinfects bacteria on or in ceramic surface. Activated carbon removes taste and odour contamination, including chlorine. Silver replaces chlorine as a disinfectant. |
| BGC Ceramic (Diamond) |
As BGC/C10, also including "Scalex"; additive. |
As BGC/C10 and also providing lime-scale management features. |
As BGC/C10 with added WRc approved "Scalex" food grade polyphosphate which interacts with calcium and magnesium salts to interfere with crystal growth, reducing scaling. Also, a protective film forms on pipe and other metal surfaces to provide corrosion protection. |
| BGHMC Ceramic (Diamond) |
As BGC/C10 above, also including "Aqua-Curex"; resin. |
As BGC/C10 and also removing a variety of heavy metals. |
As GBC/C10 with added ion exchange resin suitable for heavy metals. Water passes through the 1 µM ceramic, then into a mixed bed of GAC and resin. The resin removes lead, copper, nickel, cadmium, mercury, zinc& silver. Calcium & magnesium also absorbed, but later given up in favour of the heavy netals. the silver in the GAC is not compromised by the resin. |
| GC ABS (Diamond) |
Granular activated carbon inside a 5µM ABS plastic casing. |
Bacteria, THMs, Organic Pesticides, Solvents, PAHs, Turbidity, Chlorine, Colour, Taste & Odour. |
Activated silver impregnated carbon kills bacteria present in the media, also eliminates 75-85% THMs, 95% of Organic Herbicides & Insecticides, 90-95% of Solvents, PAHs, Turbidity, Colour, Chlorine, Taste & Odour. taste and odour contamination, including chlorine. Silver replaces chlorine as a disinfectant. |
| GSC ABS (Diamond) |
As GC, also including "Scalex" additive. |
As GC and also providing lime-scale management features. |
As GC with added UK Dept of Environment approved "Scalex" food grade polyphosphate which interacts with calcium and magnesium salts to interfere with crystal growth, reducing scaling. Also, a protective film forms on pipe and other metal surfaces to provide corrosion protection. |
| GHMC ABS (Diamond) |
As GC above, also including "Aqua-Curex" resin. |
As GC but also removing a variety of heavy metals. |
As GC with added ion exchange resin used for heavy metals. Water passes through basic 5 µM screen, then a bed of resin to remove lead, copper, nickel, cadmium, mercury, zinc& silver. Calcium & magnesium also absorbed, then given up in favour of the heavy netals. the silver in the GAC is not affected by the resin. |
| CP10 ABS (Pearl) |
As GC, also including "Scalex" additive. |
As GC and also providing lime-scale management features. |
As GC with added UK Dept of Environment approved "Scalex" food grade polyphosphate which interacts with calcium and magnesium salts to interfere with crystal growth, reducing scaling. Also, a protective film forms on pipe and other metal surfaces to provide corrosion protection. |
| C5 Ceramic (Standard) |
Silver impregnated granular activated carbon inside a 1µM ceramic cartridge casing |
Cysts, 99% Bacteria, 70-80% THMs, 90% of Organic Pesticid-es, 85-90% Solvents, PAHs, Turbidity, Colour, Chlorine, Taste, Odour. |
All waterborne cysts and 95% of all bacteria down to 0.7 µM stopped on the ceramic surface. Silver acts as a bacteriacide, killing any bacteria in the media when water flow is at or below system rating. When water is still, silver effect disinfects bacteria on or in ceramic surface. Activated carbon removes taste and odour contamination, including chlorine. Silver replaces chlorine as a disinfectant. |
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