Do We Need a Water Hardness Monitor to Monitor Soft Water Quality?

A water hardness monitor continuously compares your industrial or process water hardness to pre-set levels. If the water hardness exceeds those levels, the hardness monitors can trigger an industrial water softener regeneration and/or an alarm or an alert. But do you need one for your industrial or commercial water softener system?

The answer is likely “yes” because the cost/benefit profiles of water hardness monitors carry a strong ROI. If appropriately engineered, a water hardness monitor system can help you save money by reducing water wastage and minimizing conditioning agent use. To understand why, it’s helpful to understand the concept of industrial water softener hardness leakage.

Ion Exchange Limits
During commercial or industrial water softening processes, calcium and magnesium ions are exchanged for sodium ions. As additional hard water is softened, the ion exchange limits may be exceeded with the result being hardness leakage. If an industrial water softener is not regenerated early enough in the process, there could be unacceptable levels of hardness leakage. This can be damaging to sensitive equipment in the short term and reduce the lifespan of all downstream equipment in the long term.

This is why a hardness analyzer that can monitor water hardness levels continuously (e.g. every two to 99 minutes) is so important. When the water hardness reaches a set level, regeneration can be automatically activated. In addition, alarms can be set to notify you when there is a very high level of hardness which may indicate bigger issues.
Some models can display current water hardness levels in ppm/mg/L as well as send a signal to your building management system (BMS) with those hardness levels, as well as alarms if preset levels are not met.

Put simply, water hardness monitoring increases the efficiency of the softener process because it recognizes whether regeneration is running correctly, and ensures that resin quality and regeneration conditioning agents are appropriate levels. As a result, hardness monitors can pay for themselves very quickly.

Hardness Leakage
Some facilities or processes are very sensitive to hardness leakage. Good examples of this are food & beverage plants, pharmaceutical production facilities, specialty chemical manufacturers, or systems that include reverse osmosis systems or boilers. If hardness leakage would cause equipment damage, production downtime, or products that are out of specification, you should also utilize our most robust industrial water softeners.

What Is Best for You?
Do you need a water hardness monitor? Given that they pay for themselves very quickly by helping to prevent damage or downtime, the answer is probably “yes”. However, if your facility or process is very sensitive to hardness leakage, a hardness monitor by itself may not be enough. In that case, you should also have the extra protection of our top industrial water softener system. Contact Industrial Water Solutions today and we will be happy to provide a free proposal on one or both systems.

Matching industrial water and ultrapure water equipment with your requirements and budget is a specialty of Industrial Water Solutions. We have decades of experience in industrial water equipment sales, installation, preventative maintenance, and repair services. Contact us at 800-820-9021 or info@industrialh2osolutions.com for a quote or support.