How do water softener systems work? Are they magic? Adding salt gets rid of other minerals. . . HOW? I’ve never understood this. I’m 54, male.
In: Chemistry
Might be worth mentioning that there are chemicals that function in a similar way called chelating agents.
They’re usually compounds, ligands with slightly negative active groups that tend to bind to positively charged ions responsible for water hardness like calcium ions. They’re used in industrial uses, as medical treatments. Hell, even haemoglobin the stuff that carries oxygen around the body functions as a chelating agent – strongly binding to Fe2+ ions which in turn acts as a reversible binding agent of oxygen for you know, helping your body functions properly.
In ELI5 terms, they’re like little hooks or claws, many are shaped like the claw in a claw machine but instead of grabbing stuffed toys they grab onto heavy metal ions.
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