Hyderabad Based Engineering Duo Design Revolutionary Solution to the Hard Water Problem

There is a saying in India "Jal hi Jivan Hai"; besides drinking, water is essential for bathing, laundry, dishwashing, and cooking. However, the situation for this life resource is less than ideal in the country. As per a recent report from WHO, India ranked a lowly 120 out of 122 countries for its water quality and 133^rd out of 180 nations for the availability of fresh water.

Jal hi Jivan Hai

With an increase in population and urbanization, there is limited availability of fresh water supplied by municipal authorities. The remaining population has to often to rely on water extracted from underground sources or supplied by water tankers. This water contains dissolved impurities and a higher concentration of minerals. When levels of dissolved impurities (TDS), and particularly Calcium and Magnesium are higher than recommended levels, this water is termed as "Hard Water".

Hard Water adversely affects your expensive Plumbing Fixtures, Bathroom Fittings, Kitchenware Appliances and household equipment such as Hot Water Geysers, Steel Pipes, Washing Machines, etc due to corrosion and formation of lime scales. Hard water may also lead to health problems such as Dry & Itchy skin, Rough Hair and eventual hair loss.

Having faced personal difficulties with hard water, Hyderabad based Uday Nadiwade, and Rajesh Saraf installed water softeners in their respective homes, but failed to get the desired results. They found that the solutions available in the market required high capital investment, consumed a large amount of electricity, wasted a lot of water and came with prohibitive maintenance costs.

The engineering duo decided to take the matter in their own hand and began researching and developing a solution for the hard water problem which was Better, Faster, Cheaper than the competition by a big margin (4X). After a year of research, rigorous testing and development, the duo launched D'Cal Hard Water Softener in July 2018 as a low-cost and environment friendly solution to treat hard water.

Instead of using the traditional method of removing minerals like calcium and magnesium that make water hard, D'Cal uses food grade engineered compounds to eliminate the stickiness of calcium ions, ensuring that calcium does not stick to walls, buckets, or taps. Installation of D'cal is a hassle-free process as it does not require any additional fittings, plumber or electricity. The user needs to drop the bottle-shaped softener machine into an overhead water tank. Besides being cost-effective, the device is also eco-friendly as there is no wastage and consumes zero electricity.

Each unit of D'cal costs approximately Rs. 3,600, as compared to the conventional plants which cost approximately Rs. 30,000. The device is ideal for household tanks with an annual consumption of 3 lakh litres of water and lasts for approximately 10 to 12 months. The unit stays at the bottom of the tank and starts floating when the compound in the device is exhausted.

Mr. Uday Nadiwade stated "D'cal needs no maintenance and there is no need for regeneration (like replacing the filter). In conventional hard water treatment solutions, approximately 70% of the water turns soft and the ions shift to the rest of the water thereby wasting it due to the high content of salts," says Nadiwade. He also adds that every customer can test the effectiveness of the device in their own house, with their water by themselves.

They also received the Telangana Governments "Best Innovation award in MSME sector for 2019".

The device is available on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, The Better India, etc. and on D'Cal's website (www.dcal.co.in).