Many American households struggle with hard water, which has large quantities of dissolved magnesium and calcium. While these minerals have health benefits, they can also negatively impact the skin, hair, and household appliances. Explore these disadvantages below, and learn how a water softening system can help.
Clogged Pipes
When hard water reacts with soap and other cleaning products, soap scum forms and lines your plumbing pipes. Over time, soap scum hardens and builds up in the piping, restricting water flow and creating stubborn clogs. At this point, you need professional plumbing services to unclog your pipes or upgrade your plumbing system.
Plumbing costs quickly add up, especially if you don’t soften the hard water. With softened water, this buildup is no longer an issue.
Mineral Deposits on Plumbing Fixtures
Hard water leaves unsightly deposits on the toilet bowl, tub, shower, kitchen sink, and faucets. The ugly, rusty stains on these appliances impact the aesthetics of your home, and you may have to clean your bathrooms and kitchen more frequently to get rid of the scale buildup and maintain an appearance of cleanliness.
Strong chemical cleaners eliminate hard water stains, and you may also have some luck with household products like vinegar and lemon juice. However, softening your water is the best way to prevent scale buildup.
Rusty Plumbing Connections
The minerals in hard water corrode metals, especially those plumbers used in older houses. If your plumbing system has leaks, it may be because the hard water minerals have eaten away at the metals in your plumbing connections, and the corroded sections may disintegrate if left unrepaired. In this case, a plumber may need to upgrade large areas of the plumbing system, resulting in high repair costs.
Damaged Appliances
Hard water leaves scale buildup on appliances that use water, resulting in premature breakdowns. The water heater is a common victim of hard water damage, and you may have to replace your heating system or individual parts frequently.
The minerals in heated hard water solidify around the heating element in an electric heater. This solid buildup is called scale, which makes the heating element burn out as it tries to heat the water. Your heater also consumes more energy as it works to heat through the scale buildup.
Dishwashers, washing machines, coffee makers, and other kitchen appliances also suffer from mineral buildup, resulting in reduced efficiency, higher energy costs, and frequent repairs and replacements. The costs of repairing these appliances overwhelm most homeowners, and investing in a water treatment system is more cost-friendly.
Dry Skin and Hair
Hard water minerals take a toll on hair and skin, and you may notice that your cleaning products don’t lather up well. Hard water reacts with soap to form scum that clogs your skin and worsens acne and conditions like eczema. The minerals also remove the skin’s natural oils that nourish and hydrate the skin, leaving you feeling dry and irritated.
These effects are primarily apparent in people with sensitive skin or psoriasis, dermatitis, and eczema. Anyone with a damaged skin barrier experiences irritation if they shower with hard water.
Hard water isn’t kind to hair either, as the minerals create a film that affects the penetration of shampoos. The result is thinning, dullness, breakage, frizziness, and a dry scalp.
However, a water softening system creates one less problem, especially for those with existing dry hair or sensitive skin.
Dingy Clothes
Hard water also sabotages your laundry, and it is a likely culprit for your faded and frayed-out clothing. The minerals produce a film that accumulates on your fabrics and prevents detergents from properly cleaning your clothes. This buildup stains your clothing and traps odors that don’t go away. Dingy whites are a common problem in hard water areas, and your clothes will wear out quickly.
Hard water is a nuisance as it damages water-reliant appliances, clothes, skin, and hair. Our water treatment solutions at Spartan Plumbing and Services improve your water quality so you can enjoy fewer plumbing and appliance repairs. Call us today for softer water.
