Will soft water eventually remove hard water deposits from fixtures, etc?

[sac02]

I'm looking forward to installing my new system this weekend and having soft water for the first time in years.

I'm wondering - with enough time, will the soft water by itself eventually erode, dissolve, or otherwise remove the hard water deposits that have built up on our fixtures and shower walls?

Or is the ONLY way to remove such deposits chemical/mechanical (like CLR/elbow grease)?

 

[Mikey]

The key is "enough time", apparently. One UK website says:

"Using softened water will start to remove scale from your home in two weeks.
The amount of scale already in your home can affect how quickly softened water will get rid of it.
Typically:
● In six weeks, scale will be gone from your kettle
● In six months, scale will be gone from your heat exchanger
● In two years, scale will be gone from the rest of your pipe work"

I suspect your mileage may vary.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

If your deposits are the result of other minerals such as Silica which are not dissolved by soft water, then those deposits are likely to remain and reoccur until physically removed.

From my own experience, our electric kettle previously required chemical descaling every 6-8 weeks. After installing our softener and RO unit in 1998, scale eventually dissolved and there continues to be no deposits visible.

With softened water, soap does not tend to stick to sinks, fixtures or shower walls as easily so after an initial cleaning, subsequent cleanings should be more easily completed.

After the softener is installed, remember to reduce the amount of detergent utilized in the laundry and dishwasher to about 1/2 or less than the amount you are accustomed to.

 

[sac02]

Cool, good to know!

 

[ditttohead]

In commercial applications ie: commercial dishwashers when a softener stops working you can see scale build up in a matter of hours. Descaling can take weeks. Residentially you will notice that the softener may produce less than 1 GPG but the water in the house may remain above 1 gpg for an extended amount of time. Descaling will occur but the length of time really cant be stated as it was above. It is incalculable.