How does hard water damage appliances?
As you know, the easiest way to know if you have hard water is that you notice the white scale build up on your sinks, fixtures and faucets. This white scale buildup is not only annoying, but it is harming the lifespan of those fixtures. The white scale buildup is a combination of calcium and magnesium, and while you tell your kids that calcium is good for their bones, it has the opposite effect on the bones of your home! This also leads to the saying “it’s what you don’t know, that can hurt you,” because if you see that white scale coming out of the faucets, that means its also stuck throughout your entire house before you ever have the chance to see it! Hard water is constantly putting strain not only on the fixtures that you can see, but also your hot water heater, your dish washer, your pipes and everything else that uses water. Here are some of the specific areas to watch for if you think you might have hard water.
How does hard water affect appliances and your home?
If you have hard water, there’s a chance that it is causing a strain on your plumbing throughout your house and can deteriorate your appliances over time. Scale from hard water can obstruct plumbing, and it damages your water-consuming appliances, wearing them down over time. They become less and less effective until eventually they break down and you end up needing to replace them. If you can see the white scale build up on your faucets, could you imagine the amount of buildup that is created in the places that water sits the longest, in your pipes and hot water heater? Did you know that if you have at least 7 grains per gallon (gpg) of hardness in your water, the lifespan of appliances like hot water heaters and dishwashers will be cut in half! It goes without saying that the last thing that you want to do as a home owner is worry about replacing the most expensive appliances in your home!
To explain a little future, below are the results of The Water Quality Association’s (WQA) study from 2009. WQA examined the impact of hard water on typical household appliances and fixtures. It is easy to see the side effects that hard water has on your greatest asset, your home.
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APPLIANCE EXPECTED USING HARD WATER
Washing Machine 11 years 7.7 years
Dishwasher 10 years 7 years
Toilet 6.5 years 2 years
Faucet 9 years 5.4 years
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Because of the damage it can cause, hard water will likely result in a loss of energy efficiency and, in turn, higher energy costs. It was demonstrated that for gas water heaters, up to 24-percent efficiency can be lost with hard water. Hard water also causes your household to use at least two times the amount of soap that would be needed on soft, treated water.
How to get rid of hard water
The one and only solution to solve hard water related issues is to install a quality water softener for your whole home. All water softeners use the same operating principle: They trade the minerals for something else, in most cases sodium. The process is called ion exchange. You can solve all your hard water worries with one of our CareSoft® series softeners. Our softeners will efficiently remove the calcium, magnesium, and iron minerals in your water to protect your home and family.
When you have a water softener installed in your home, it will remove the calcium and magnesium. Soft water won’t leave the same residue all over your home making all of the hard water stains and problems a thing of the past. Not to mention, soft water is ideal for cleaning, which means it will make your daily chores much easier to handle. Lastly, in-depth studies have found a water softener can help you save hundreds of dollars on cleaning products and soaps every year.
Benefits of soft water
We can go on and on about the benefits of soft water, but at the end of the day it is important to think about what is best for your home and family. Having a water softener or filtration systems installed in your home will give your family safer cleaner water, free of any minerals and unwanted containments. In addition, there are many ways that having soft water can save you money over the life of owning a home. Soft water will increase the life of your appliances and save you from having to replace expensive appliances that can cost thousands. Additionally, soft water can save an average family of 4 hundreds of dollars a year in cleaning products and soaps for your home. Lastly, soft water will provide you will the ease of mind that you and your family can worry about one less thing. Let us worry about giving you the water that you deserve, so you can focus on what’s important to you.
No matter the type of treatment needed in your home, Kel Tren WaterCare can solve your problems. Our certified professionals can come to your home, test your water and figure out the best solution to ensure that your family has safe drinking water throughout your home. Call us today at (609) 888-0053 to schedule your free at home test.