Drinking water contains calcium, magnesium and other minerals. The “harder” the water is, more minerals it contains. As the mineral ions and water enter the home, they get together with pressure, heat and agitation it causes them to crystallize. The dissolved mineral ions come out of result and build branch shaped mineral crystal with an electrostatic charge. This charge causes them to link to the side of plumbing fixtures and pipes, which results in dangerous scale built-up.  The crust of scaly material decreases the patency of pipes and work of plumbing fixtures, which resulted in repeated maintenance calls.

Hard water scale can be annoying in some cases risky and even deadly. The buildup is frustrating when it blocks the small exit holes in the shower head. It is much more frustrating when it interferes with the temperature sensing gadget in the water heater resulting in holler than required water, and increasing utility bill. Scale buildup can expensive when it narrows piles so much that the force of water at the faucet heads is sub-standard. In that case a house owner may end up spending 1000s of dollars to change the pipes in his home.  Scale build up can be deadly when it blocks the pressure valve and temperature in the water heater.  This may outcome in the buildup of high pressure into tank that can, in some cases, outcome in a deadly blast!

For over hundred years the solution to hard water has been water softener treatment. Unfortunately, water softeners have big quantities of salt. Softeners delete beneficial magnesium and calcium through an ion exchange process, and change them with sodium. The subsequent wash out cycle outcomes in the loss of more than hundred gallons of water and with it fit minerals and remaining sodium. In homes with septic and well system that salt run off may end in the ground water and then back in the well. With city systems it flows to a waste treatment facility and from there to streams, lakes and rivers, where the top sodium content destroys the environment. Because of the unsafe sodium runoff, some areas have fully banned the use of water softeners. Even in places where the treatment is lawful, house owner must still spend hundred dollars a year to buy heavy bags of salt and pay for big maintenance costs.

The inconvenience and in some cases illegality of water softeners meant a fresh approach to conditioning hard water and stopping scales required to be developed. In feedback to the issue, researchers in Germany developed an idea called template assisted crystallization. TAC is a form of physical water treatment. It processes hard water without the use of chemicals, without the need to discharge big amounts of water, without big maintenance costs and without subsequent pollution.