Drinking water & drinking water softening

Filled water glass with removed filters in the background

An adult consists of up to 65 percent water; for children, this figure is even higher. Water is necessary for the function of various organs, for example kidneys and brain. It is therefore important that the body is adequately supplied with clean drinking water. Live in a region with calcareous water and would you like to install a descaling system? Perhaps you are wondering how such a system affects the quality of your drinking water? We'll explain it to you!

Drinking water — the source of all life

Water is needed for countless functions in the body. This includes:

  • blood production and the transport of nutrients in the blood
  • temperature regulation through sweating
  • the production of cells, tissues and body fluids
  • the dissolution of nutritional components such as sugar, vitamins, etc.

For these functions to be carried out by the body without problems, we must drink enough drinking water every day. Adolescents and adults are advised to consume 30 to 40 milliliters times their body weight per day. About one liter is taken with food. This means that an additional 1.5 liters of drinking water should be covered by drunken liquids.

How is drinking water obtained?

Germany is considered a water-rich country with lots of rainfall and large groundwater resources. This benefits us in terms of drinking water supply. But where exactly does our drinking water come from and how does it get into our houses and apartments?
Depending on the region, drinking water consists of different types of water. This includes:

  • groundwaters: This includes seepage precipitation and seeped lake and river water.
  • Enriched groundwater: Here, the amount of groundwater is increased through targeted infiltration.
  • spring water: This water comes from natural, underground reservoirs and comes to light at specific locations, the springs.
  • surface water: Surface water includes lake and river water. Before it is supplied to the drinking water supply, it must be purified.
  • riparian filtrate: This type of water comes from wells located near rivers and lakes. Bank filtrate must also be purified.

Before the water reaches our residential complexes, it must be treated. Depending on where the raw water comes from, it is filtered in waterworks through various chemical and physical processes and converted into drinking water. Which processes are used and how are determined in Germany by the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV). After treatment, drinking water is routed through branched networks of pipes until it can flow out of our taps.

What are the quality requirements for drinking water in Germany?

German tap water is of very good quality. Regular checks ensure this. In doing so, various parameters are checked for their limits, e.g.:

Parameters
Limit value according to TrinkwV
Odor
(odor threshold value)
2 at 12 °C
3 at 25 °C
Turbidity
1,0 NTU (Nephelometric turbidity value)
Coloring
0,5 m-1
Conductivity
2000 µS cm-1
pH-Wert
between 6.5 and 9.5
Lead
0,01 mg/l
Copper
2 mg/l
Nickel
0.02 mg/l
Nitrate
50 mg/l
Sodium
200 mg/l
Pesticides
0,0001 mg/l
E. coli (coliform bacterium)
0 in 100 ml
Enterococci
0 in 100 ml
Coliform bacteria
0 in 100 ml
Colony count 22 °C
without abnormal change or 100/ml (20/ml for disinfected water)*
Legionella
100/100 ml

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No environmental impact due to chloride in drinking water
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No running costs
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No release of sodium into your drinking water

Softening systems for drinking water

German drinking water is strictly controlled so that there are no harmful substances such as heavy metals, fertilizers or pathogens in it. However, there is a regional problem that does not affect health but can still be very annoying: high levels of lime in drinking water.
Depending on where your drinking water comes from, more or less lime present in water. Drinking water that comes from springs and has previously flowed through rocks is particularly calcareous (hard). As a result, minerals, including calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), are released from the rock. It's good for your health. After all, the body needs a variety of minerals, which must be supplied through food. But calcium and magnesium in particular can cause problems in the household when the molecules combine and calcium deposits form in this way. The water hardness is given in degrees of German hardness (°dH). A distinction is made between the following hardness ranges:

  • up to 8.4 °dH: soft water
  • between 8.4 and 14 °dh: medium-hard water
  • from 14 °dH: hard water

Live in a region with hard water, annoying chalk stains collect on surfaces such as faucets, shower heads or tiles. In addition, lime can be in household appliances cause major damage, such as dishwashers and washing machines, in boilers or in water pipes. The solution to this is water softening systems or Lime protection systems.

Can you drink water from water softener systems?

There are various ways to remove lime from water or to avoid calcium deposits. The most widely used types of drinking water softening include systems with sodium chloride, so-called ion exchangers, and descaling systems without sodium chloride, which provide lime protection with the help of seed crystal formation. However, ion exchangers in particular can change the quality of drinking water. We'll explain to you what you need to consider.

Drinking water softening systems with ion exchangers

For water softening systems for drinking water with ion exchangers Sodium chloride is added to water in the form of tablets. As a result, the calcium and magnesium ions that make up lime are replaced by sodium ions: The lime content drops and the water becomes softer.
In general, water from a sodium chloride softener can be drunk for drinking water. However, problems can arise with very hard water: 8.2 mg sodium is required to soften one liter of drinking water by 1° dH. Accordingly, the sodium content in water rises. Depending on how much °dH you want to soften your water, the total sodium content may exceed the limit of 200 mg/l. An oversupply of sodium can increase the risk of high blood pressure and associated cardiovascular diseases. You should therefore make sure in advance whether an ion exchanger is suitable for your individual drinking water situation.

Lime protection systems for drinking water

Systems based on the principle of seed crystal formation for drinking water are usually used as Lime protection systems referred to. These systems are installed directly at a building's domestic water connection and reduce calcium deposits in the drinking water installation and on surfaces. During seed crystal formation, microscopically small crystals of lime are produced in the lime protection system. The lime, which is already in the water, prefers to attach to these lime crystals instead of adhering to pipes or surfaces. As a result, the lime attached to the crystals floats freely in the water and is simply washed out by the tap when water is removed.
The advantage of lime protection systems is that the quality of your drinking water remains unchanged as no foreign substances are added. Since the lime is not replaced by sodium, the valuable minerals calcium and magnesium are retained in the water. In addition, seed crystal formation has no effect on the taste of the water. Drinking drinking water from this water treatment plant is therefore particularly user-friendly and advantageous compared to drinking water quality — regardless of how high the initial hardness of your drinking water is.

Lime protection systems for drinking water from AQON PURE

Do you find constant descaling annoying? But at the same time, is it important to you to maintain the good quality of your drinking water? Then the solution to your problems is a lime protection system from AQON PURE. By forming seed crystals, you can reduce annoying deposits of lime in your drinking water installation. Find the right AQON PURE system for you now in our Shop and use our inquiry tool to obtain non-binding offer one.

Up and running: Get the offer in just 2 minutes - optional with installation at a fixed price.
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