There are a lot of problems with your plumbing system that you may encounter. It is not all about leaks and clogged drains, however. The problem may actually be with the quality of the water coming out of your taps itself. One of the most common plumbing and water quality issues that homeowners face is that of hard water. Now, hard water is not necessarily an emergency. Not right away, at least. It can cause some serious problems, though.
In today’s post, we are going to discuss hard water in-depth. We’ll talk about what hard water is, what kind of issues it can lead to, and how best to resolve problems with hard water. In fact, we’ll come right out and say that you’ll want a whole-house water softener in Des Moines, IA if you have hard water. There is no better way in which to deal with the problem effectively and conveniently. Now, let’s take a closer look!
What Is Hard Water?
No, we are not talking about ice—though it is certainly getting chilly out there! Hard water is just regular old water that has too high of a mineral concentration. Typically, we are looking at calcium and magnesium levels. Hard water is not going to make you physically ill, the way that certain other contaminants in your water can. It may not even make it taste bad. So why the concern?
Problems Caused By Hard Water
Because those minerals don’t stay in the water, that’s why. Hard water is most commonly recognized by the deposits that it leaves behind. These ugly buildups are yellow, white, and green in color. They build up on plumbing fixtures and drains. They can stain laundry, leaving it looking yellowed even after it’s just been washed. Hard water can make it difficult to get a good lather from your soap, leaving you feeling unclean after showering, and it can make something as simple as rinsing the conditioner out of your hair more of a problem.
Perhaps the most serious issue stemming from hard water is the buildup that it leaves in pipes and appliances, though. You may hear your boiler or water heater rumbling if these buildups are present. You may have issues with narrowing drains due to increasing buildups. These are real issues that cannot be ignored!
Prevent Those Buildups from Building Up in the First Place
How do you prevent hard water deposits from building up? You get those minerals out of the water before it circulates throughout your plumbing system, that’s how. Sound time consuming and labor intensive? Don’t worry. Doing so is actually quite simple, once we have installed your water softener!
A water softener uses a brine tank to swap out hard water minerals with harmless sodium ions. It’s a whole-house solution, so you don’t have to worry about using multiple units or anything like that. Just one will take care of all the water coming into your home. All that you’ll have to do is replenish the salt tank with the appropriate product as needed.
Winter brings a lot of challenges. It makes commutes tougher. It makes taking the dogs out for their walks tougher. Heck, it makes getting out of bed in the morning tougher. All that being said, it is easy to overlook some of the worst challenges that winter has to offer, including those affecting your plumbing system. You’d be remiss to do so, though. Why? Because if you wait for problems to take hold, you’re already in a world of trouble!
If you are wondering why we bring up clogged drains so frequently, there are a few reasons for doing so.
It’s a question that no homeowner is going to want to hear “right now” as a response to. The fact of the matter is, however, that your pipes won’t last indefinitely. There will come a time when repiping your home is really going to be in the best interest of your property. There may also come a time when there is really no other option to consider. Whatever the case may be, you want to be well-informed before you take on such a major project.
For some reason, it seems like many homeowners are more likely to take a crack at servicing their plumbing systems than they would be at, say, breaking open the furnace to try and resolve a problem with that system. There is no denying that doing so can be very dangerous, and we wouldn’t argure otherwise! That being said, you have to keep in mind the immense amount of trouble that a compromised plumbing system can cause!
There are a lot of factors that we can control in our homes and around the office. The temperature, for instance, provided that we have good HVAC systems installed. There are also those events that are out of our control, though. These include flooding. Sure, professional plumbing services and even basement waterproofing will help to prevent and protect against flooding. However, even this is no guarantee.
When plumbing problems strike, they can really strike anywhere in your home. In fact, issues like leaks can even lead to symptoms in areas of the house that don’t have any actual plumbing fixtures in them or pipes running through them. All of that being said, it is a law of averages, so the bathroom, an area of your home with quite extensive plumbing, is always a likely target.
If you ask us, most if not all plumbing services really should be completed by skilled, trained professionals. Of course, we are skilled, trained, professional plumbers, so that is just what you’d expect us to say, isn’t it? Well, we’re not just trying to line our pockets. The fact is that most plumbing services really are beyond the scope of what even a handy homeowner is capable of handling his or herself. Does that cover everything?
When you need to use hot water in your home, as you undoubtedly do at many points throughout the day, you probably don’t really give all that much thought to how that hot water comes to be hot, or how it makes its way to the point of use where it is needed. Water heaters are a standard feature of homes today, after all. If and when the time comes to invest in a new water heater, though, you are wise to give a whole lot of thought to how you’ll heat water in your home.
We may be approaching the finish line of the heating season, but that doesn’t mean that we are out of the chilly woods just yet. The fact of the matter is that you will still need your heater for a while longer. Because we are moving out of the heating system, though, it does make sense to start reflecting on how your heater handled this past winter. Were you 100% satisfied with the overall operation of your system? Or did repair needs really bog down your comfort this season?
