Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing Blog

What You Need to Know About Hard Water

water-handsThere are a number of issues that you should be aware of when it comes to your home’s plumbing system. One of the most common, and most problematic, is hard water. Millions of homeowners have to deal with hard water issues, even though many of them aren’t even aware that they have a problem. You need to know about hard water and its symptoms, if you want to keep your plumbing system in the best possible condition. Read on for more information.

What is Hard Water?

Hard water is just water with high concentrations of magnesium and calcium particles. These particles are not harmful to you, personally, though they might make your hair a bit more brittle. The real danger that hard water poses is to your plumbing. Over years of exposure to hard water, the walls of the pipe will begin to accumulate these mineral deposits. This kind of built-up mineral deposit is referred to as lime scale.

The Effects of Lime Scale

So, why should you care if you have lime scale growing in your home’s plumbing system? Well, the more the lime scale builds up in your plumbing pipes, the more it restricts the flow of water through them. This reduces the water pressure in your system, and makes it much more difficult for the plumbing to operate effectively. Even worse, lime scale that is not caught and removed in time will eventually harden. This makes it nearly impossible to remove the scale without damaging the pipe it’s attached to. If you want to truly protect your plumbing system from hard water and the lime scale it causes, you’re going to need to take preventive measures.

What to do About It

The best way to address hard water is to have a water treatment system installed in your home’s water line. A water softener is a kind of water treatment system designed for treating hard water. There are a number of different kinds of water softeners, but they all operate by neutralizing the magnesium and calcium particles in the water in some way. This “softens” the water, so that lime scale does not form in the pipes.

If you’re not sure whether or not you have to worry about hard water at all, there are a couple of ways that you can tell. Look around your faucets, and in your bathtub or shower, for any chalky white substance. That’s lime scale, and if it’s present in those areas you can bet that it’s probably in the pipes too.

You should also be on the lookout for any signs that your water pressure is decreasing. If you are experiencing a slow drop in water pressure over time, then you might have a lime scale problem. Make sure that you have a professional examine your pipes, and help you determine whether or not you should install a water softener in your water line.

Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing provides a full range of water treatment services in Gaithersburg, MD. If you need help combating hard water in your home, contact us today for an appointment.