Soda Ash in Water Treatment & Safety
Soda ash, or sodium carbonate, has the ability to “soften” water by removing trace minerals. This substance, while safe to use for wash water and toothpaste, can cause harm if consumed in large quantities. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Soda Ash
-
Soda ash, a substance used in a wide range of industrial applications such as glass and detergents, exists either as a natural mineral salt or as a manufactured synthetic.
Water Softening
-
Soda ash commonly acts as a natural water-softening agent. Soft water leaves clothes cleaner than hard water, which contains traces of calcium and magnesium.
-
Treatment Process
-
Sodium carbonate strips hard water of its calcium and magnesium by swapping those ions with its own sodium ions, according to Cheaperchem.com.
Safety Issues
-
While safe for laundry water and often used in toothpastes, large quantities of soda ash can cause skin irritation and mild toxic reactions that make it unsafe for the treatment of drinking water.
Considerations
-
Soft drinking water requires a different process than soft laundry water. Instead of simply pouring some sodium carbonate to a washing machine, a stand-alone mechanism uses a rock-salt solution to create drinkable soft water.
-
