I got a pop-up add for an electronic whole house descaler - brand name yarna.

is it safe to assume these are BS and if they worked we would all have them already?

I actually thought this would be another WAFO basket thread.

Jokes aside, this type of electronic devices for water treatment does not remove scale, and so shouldn't be called a descaler.

slybarman wrote:is it safe to assume these are BS and if they worked we would all have them already?

For our purposes, preventing scale in a steam boiler, I think they are clearly ineffective. There is anecdotal evidence that magnetic treatment may help to reduce hard scale deposits on shower heads and glassware. This old web page by a retired chemistry professor has lots of interesting discussion and references: https://web.archive.org/web/20080501194 ... scams.html

Jaroslav wrote:shouldn't be called a descaler

I agree, but unfortunately that term has crept into the vernacular - these gadgets are often called descalers rather than softeners, although they are neither.

thanks for the info.