Many people say that hard water tastes nicer than soft water as it’s sweeter. While that may be the case, hard water is not good for your home. Unfortunately, 85% of U.S. homes have hard water, which can damage your property’s pipework, ruin your appliances, and stain your bath and sink. Let’s learn more about the damage hard water can do to your home and what you can do about it.
Bathroom Impact
Imagine paying $10,000 on a shiny new bathroom remodel, only for hard water to ruin it in months. Hard water causes mineral deposits, yellow stains, and white residue on sinks, bathtubs, taps, and toilets. Glass shower doors and bathroom tiles will also be covered in marks, and you may feel like it’s never really clean. You can minimize some of these stains and marks by drying everything as much as possible when it gets wet. Wiping over taps, tiles, and the shower door will stop the water from drying and leaving mineral deposits. You should also regularly use lemon juice and vinegar to clean stains caused by hard water, as this will help to break them down.
Pipework Problems
Hard water can clog up your pipes and drainage system when it comes into contact with soap. This then causes curds that block up pipes. The pipes leading to your shower head are also likely to be affected. Research has found that water flow can be reduced by as much as 75% in hard water areas, such as Indianapolis, Las Vegas, or Minneapolis. Plumbing problems can be expensive and time-consuming to fix, so you should do what you can to prevent hard water from damaging your pipes. A water softener is often advised by water softener installation services as they increase the lifespan of pipes and improve their efficacy. These softeners remove the mineral content of the water to make it softer.
Appliance Damage
Having to replace your kettle regularly because of hard water buildup is unlikely to have much impact on your finances. But hard water can damage other appliances that you probably haven’t even thought of. Your water heater will slowly be damaged by hard water as mineral deposits will build up, which will affect the heating element. In time, this will rupture, and a repair or new heating system will be needed. If you have a whole house humidifier, you must be careful, too, as the mineral deposits inside the unit will get into the air and leave white dust throughout your home. Plus, this buildup inside the unit could lead to mold growth and the unit malfunctioning. Regular maintenance can reduce the likelihood of appliances breaking down because of hard water. Your water heater will benefit from a magnetic water treatment that prevents scale buildup, whereas water filters can be used in your humidifier.
Hard water is safe, but it can damage your home if you don’t take preventative action. These tips are easy to enforce and will protect many aspects of your home from the impact of hard water.
