Water supplies can vary in quality depending on where you live. When water supplies come from reservoirs or lakes, rain constantly replenishes the supplies, and that prevents a buildup of minerals, like calcium and magnesium, in the water that comes through your pipes. If you use well water or you live in a municipality where groundwater supplies what's coming out of your tap, you may have "hard" water.
While hard water is generally still safe to drink, cook with, and bathe in, it can cause problems with your plumbing. These include:
Scaling and Buildup in Pipes and on Fixtures
All those minerals in the water moving through your pipes and fixtures can leave mineral deposits, known as limescale, inside your pipes and around your faucets. This buildup can eventually clog up your pipes, decreasing the water pressure. It can also cause your fixtures to decay, which can ruin their appearance and lead to plumbing emergencies if something breaks while in use.
Problems With Your Appliances
You may not think about your household appliances as being integral to your plumbing system, but some of them are very much connected. Your water heater, washing machine, the ice maker on the fridge, and your dishwasher all get their water supply from the same place. If you have hard water, the same limescale that affects your pipes and faucets can turn your appliances into energy wasters and shorten their lifespan.
Poor Water Flow and Bad Smells
Hard water can also affect your ability to maintain good water flow in your house for several reasons. The same mineral deposits that clog your pipes and damage your fixtures can quickly block tiny little openings in spray jets. This can damage everything from your showerhead to your lawn sprinklers.
Plus, hard water interferes with the formation of soap suds, so you may end up with sticky residue from your use of laundry detergent, soap, and shampoo. Since those often contain organic ingredients (including small amounts of animal fat) you can end up with foul odors coming from your pipes and fixtures.
Fortunately, there's a simple solution to a hard water problem: Get a water softener. These devices are designed to filter the minerals in hard water out through a process known as ion exchange, trapping them in a resin bed before they go through your pipes. This can keep your pipes working better and your whole household functioning without unnecessary interruptions.
If you suspect you have a hard water problem, a local plumber can help you assess the situation and see if a water softener is the right solution for your needs. Contact a local plumber to find out more.
Share10 August 2023
My homes have always had either copper or PVC plumbing pipes. But when my plumbing system needed an overhaul last spring, I wanted a piping system for my home that I could work on myself when needed. There were a lot of good reasons to choose PEX piping, but my favorite thing about the PEX piping is that it's easy to work with, even if you're a beginner like me. Now I can make small repairs myself instead of calling the plumber every time I have a minor leak or other small problem. I still call the plumber for the big stuff, but it's more affordable now that I can take care of small issues myself. I started this blog to help others learn how they, too, can do DIY plumbing repairs at home.