Water filter against limescale for the house connection
The most important things in brief
- A high lime content in water can be very harmful to your household appliances and also to your health.
- The problem is usually not the limescale itself – but the limescale deposits that form in the appliances and which can also be harmful to the skin and health.
- With the various Vodaclean LimeStop solutions, you can effectively protect your health and your household appliances.
- Our limescale filters with catalyst technology are available in a wide range of sizes – from the smallest model for protecting a kettle to the KalkStopp Profi for installation in the house connection.
How does it work?
Who hasn't seen them – the unsightly white deposits on various small kitchen appliances, like the kettle or coffee maker? Limescale can also build up in the dishwasher. Many households have a squeegee in the shower to prevent water droplets from remaining on the shower glass. Here, too, most people are concerned about preventing limescale stains on the glass.
In some parts of Germany, water hardness, which indicates, among other things, the lime content, is particularly high. Hard water is considered the healthier option, as it contains various minerals that are very important for the body and its functions. There are various ways to filter the limescale in water. However, none of these options represents a true filter as we usually imagine it.
A filter actually removes substances from the water without adding anything else. The classic household water filter, for example, which is mandatory in regions with metal pipes and is located directly behind the water meter, filters suspended particles and rust from the water. However, it cannot filter out limescale or other minerals dissolved in the water.
Frequency of descaling depends on water hardness
If the limescale is dissolved in the water, why does limescale deposits keep forming in various places around the home? There's a simple explanation. When the water arrives in the home, it is in equilibrium. This means that all the minerals contained in the water, such as calcium and magnesium, are completely dissolved.
However, this balance can be seriously disrupted when water is used in the home. For example, when water is heated. This causes some of the water to evaporate, significantly increasing the mineral content in the remaining water. This means that not all of the substances remain in the water solution and gradually settle on the appliances. The same applies, for example, to a kettle, where a small amount of water remains in the kettle and slowly evaporates.
The calcium carbonate is originally dissolved in the water as crystals and then ultimately settles as a white rim on the surfaces from which the water has evaporated.
Is limescale in water dangerous to health?
Limescale in drinking water is not dangerous to health. Quite the opposite. Magnesium and calcium—the minerals we're ultimately talking about here—are very important for the human body and are considered essential. In the context of nutrients, this means that the body cannot produce them itself. Therefore, to maintain the healthy function of nerves, muscles, and many other areas of the body, an external intake of calcium and magnesium through food is necessary.
Those who suffer from skin conditions or generally sensitive skin can exacerbate these problems if limescale deposits form on their skin. This happens, for example, if you let the water droplets dry on your skin after a shower and don't dry yourself completely.
Calcium carbonate dissolved in water, however, poses no danger to humans. At least not in the quantities we know from German drinking water.
Why does it make sense to avoid limescale deposits?
Nevertheless, it's still a good idea to avoid limescale deposits. Not only are they unsightly and lead to cloudy windows (in the shower) and glass (in the kitchen), but they can also be damaging to surfaces and kitchen appliances.
For example, if limescale builds up in a kettle, it leads to a significant deterioration in the thermal conductivity of the heating elements or the heating plate at the bottom of the kettle. The same applies to a coffee machine, for example.
In this context, a 1 millimeter thick limescale deposit in an appliance already leads to an 8% increase in energy consumption.
But limescale deposits also impair the taste experience. For example, if limescale has built up in a coffee maker, it reduces the overall temperature the water reaches. This means the coffee isn't brewed as hot as it should be. However, the aroma of the coffee beans needs an optimal brewing temperature to fully develop. The result: The coffee tastes thin and watery, even though you used high-quality beans.
In addition, limescale deposits can cause damage to valves and pipes. This significantly reduces the lifespan of appliances like washing machines and dishwashers. This, in turn, leads to considerable costs if a dishwasher or washing machine can no longer be used due to limescale alone and therefore needs to be replaced.
The most important point for us, however, is probably a health issue. Limescale deposits can harbor microorganisms. This provides bacteria with a perfect environment for growth and allows them to thrive. Limescale deposits in water boilers, for example, are a good breeding ground for Legionella and other dangerous bacteria. These, in turn, can lead to dangerous illnesses.
The KalkStopp from Vodaclean – the most gentle way of descaling
There are numerous different ways to "filter" limescale or remove limescale deposits. For example, there are the various household remedies that are often touted. White vinegar and citric acid, for example, are popular choices. The problem is that while these household remedies can remove limescale deposits to some extent, they don't completely remove all deposits. Furthermore, they aren't suitable for preventing new limescale deposits.
In addition, vinegar in particular can cause a significant odor nuisance when used directly.
Another option is ion exchange. This involves "exchanging" components of the water, thereby actually reducing the lime content. However, this leads to a significant change in the water, which you'll notice, especially in the taste.
Vodaclean's LimeStop, on the other hand, does not change the composition of the water. Lime is not actually removed from the water in the sense of a filter. Rather, a catalysis process takes place, which allows the calcium carbonate to remain more effectively dissolved. This significantly reduces the risk of limescale deposits. At the same time, existing limescale deposits are partially removed by the existing water, which has a better ability to dissolve limescale particles.
The final removal of the remaining limescale deposits is then all the easier.
What is the difference between our products and a traditional descaler?
Vodaclean's Limescale Stop works with the so-called MOL-LIK process. Our filter units contain a catalyst film. When it comes into contact with the water, this film increases the water's dissolving capacity for substances such as magnesium and calcium. This means that Vodaclean's Limescale Stop does not alter the water's constituents, yet it still prevents limescale deposits.
A conventional descaler, on the other hand, usually works with the ion exchange process. This process replaces magnesium and calcium in the water with sodium. The ion exchanger therefore significantly reduces calcium carbonate, thus significantly reducing the limescale content in the water. This, of course, also prevents limescale deposits. A conventional limescale filter cannot remove existing limescale deposits.
These are the advantages of the Vodaclean KalkStopp
Comparing these two types of limescale filtration, the advantages of Vodaclean technology quickly become apparent. Unlike a traditional descaler, KalkStopp does not change the water quality or taste. Many users of ion exchange-based descalers report that the water tastes either very bland or even salty after filtration.
Depending on the amount of magnesium and calcium in the water, the use of an ion exchanger can even cause health problems. This is because the exchange process significantly increases the amount of sodium in the water. This can even lead to exceeding the recommended daily sodium intake.
This can cause serious problems, especially for patients with high blood pressure. But even otherwise healthy people can suffer from the following symptoms if they suffer from a chronic sodium overdose:
- Muscle cramps
- Strong thirst
- confusion
- fatigue
The fact that the actual composition of the water remains unchanged is a major advantage of Vodaclean technology. We've summarized the other benefits for you here:
Why a cartridge filter with activated carbon as filter material does not solve your problem
If you look around in the supermarket, you'll often come across cartridge filters with activated carbon. These are offered as a particularly inexpensive alternative for filtering and descaling water. However, they don't solve the problem of limescale deposits at all.
An activated carbon filter has microscopically small pores. Water seeps through these pores and is filtered. This filtration process filters out contaminants and suspended particles in the water. The activated carbon also binds chemicals such as pesticides, chlorine, or pharmaceutical residues. In Germany, however, drinking water is largely free of such contaminants, so such filtration is unnecessary.
Activated carbon, on the other hand, cannot bind calcium carbonate. This means that even water filtered through a cartridge filter will ultimately still produce limescale deposits.
These are the areas of application for the KalkStopp from Vodaclean
Vodaclean's LimeStopp is available in various sizes and for different applications. For example, there are the small cubes, which can be easily used in coffee machines, kettles, humidifiers, or vaporizers. The LimeStopp Home mini can simply be placed in the water tank, where it does its work.
The KalkStopp Home comes with two chambers and is a bit larger. It can be used in dishwashers, water canisters, or the tank of a motorhome.
You can also purchase the Vodaclean Limescale Stop in larger versions. The Pro 100, for example, is used on appliances with a drinking water connection and is installed between the drinking water connection and the appliance itself. It is perfect for use with:
- coffee machines
- Water dispensers
- Ice cube maker
- Other vending machines
For even higher water consumption, we recommend using the Home Pro 200. In addition to the devices for which the Pro 100 is suitable, you can also use the Pro 200 in the following places:
- washing machine
- Heating circuit
- dishwasher
- Instantaneous water heater
Vodaclean's professional solutions are best suited for entire house connections. Which of the four professional limescale stoppers is best suited for this depends on the size of the household and the number of households living in the building. For example, the KalkStopp Profi 2500 can be used to supply not only an apartment building but also entire swimming pools or indoor pools with perfectly balanced water, thus protecting them from limescale deposits.
The catalyst as the limescale filter of the future – in many cases this is completely sufficient!
The catalyst is not a traditional limescale filter—it doesn't remove limescale from the water, but simply ensures that the calcium carbonate remains in the water solution. For water with average hardness, this is perfectly sufficient. In this case, a traditional descaler is no longer necessary. Only in particularly hard water with a high level of limescale can a combination of a catalyst, such as Vodaclean's KalkStopp, and a traditional descaler make sense.
In this case, the KalkStopp significantly supports the work of the descaler and thus leads to a reduction in the maintenance requirements of the descaler.