Suggest a suitable water treatment plant for Hard water

Question

Last year, we dug a 450-feet deep borewell at home. However, the water from the borewell turned out to be hard and caused various issues such as turbidity and the formation of white scales on kitchen utensils, tiles, glasses, and water taps. Additionally, my wife has been experiencing hairfall since we started using the borewell water, and I've been dealing with dry skin due to its usage.

I conducted a chemical and physical analysis of the borewell water, and the results (full report attached) are as follows:

• Turbidity: 9.8 NTU
• pH: 7.57
• Total hardness as CaCO: 120mg/L
• Iron as Fe: 1.42 mg/L
• Chloride as Cl: 9.93mg/L
• Total dissolved solids: 146 mg/L
• Calcium as Ca: 33.66mg/L
• Magnesium as Mg: 8.75 mg/L
• CaCO3: 130 mg/L

Based on these results, we decided to install an outdoor On-line water filter unit (see attached image). One of the cylinders in the water filter unit contains dual media of Activated Charcoal and sand, while the other cylinder contains Katalox.

Although the filtered water appears clear, we're still experiencing issues with the formation of white scales and the water hardness. The toilets are staining, and I can't wash my car as it leaves behind white scales. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find any other source of water apart from the borewell.

I conducted a chemical and physical analysis of the filtered water, and the results (full report attached) are as follows:

• Turbidity: 0.6 NTU
• pH: 7.46
• Total hardness as CaCO: 120mg/L
• Iron as Fe: 0.22 mg/L
• Chloride as Cl: 9.93mg/L
• Total dissolved solids: 144mg/L
• Calcium as Ca: 33.66mg/L
• Magnesium as Mg: 8.75mg/L
• CaCO3: 128 mg/L

---

1. I would appreciate it if someone could shed light on why the water is still hard and causing the formation of white scales.
2. What steps can I take to address this issue?
3. Should I consider installing another unit to soften the water?
4. Note: I have lot of plants at home and I regularly water them. Could adding resin based water softener kill those plants?

Thanks.

Answer 1

https://www.uswatersystems.com/katalox-light-filtration-media.html states:

for high level filtration, color and odor removal, iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide removal, efficient reduction of arsenic, zinc, copper, lead, radium, uranium and other radionuclides and heavy metals.

Nothing about it serving as any form of softener, nor even as a TAC (template assisted crystallization) non-softener that reduces scale by forming stable nano-crystals without changing the water chemistry.

So there's no particular expectation that it would soften the water. Nor does carbon or sand. If you want soft water, you'll need a softener in addition to your current filters.

Your test results do indicate a reduction in iron, (probably the Katalox) and an improvement in taste (probably the carbon, unless the disagreeable taste was the iron,) an improvment in color that could be attributed to both media, and a reduction in turbidity.