Hard water is a constant problem in Orlando, FL. If you have lived mostly in places where the water’s mineral content isn’t high, you might not know about all the problems caused by hard water. If you’ve been in Florida all your life, you certainly know all the effects of hard water, even if you’ve never realized what’s causing them.
What is Hard Water?
The term hard water refers to water that has higher mineral content than usual, like calcium or magnesium. You can usually face this problem if you get water collected through springs, wells, or other underground sources. The water goes through rocks that contain these minerals. The water carries along some of these minerals with it, and they get left behind as sediments.
Calcium and magnesium aren’t toxic for your health, and don’t create a funny taste or a strange smell in the water. However, magnesium and calcium can be harmful in high quantities. Hard water can have effects that range from being mildly annoying to highly destructive if the problem is bad enough.
The Effects of Hard Water on Your Plumbing
There are several destructive effects of hard water on your plumbing. You should schedule plumbing services in Orlando, FL, to take care of the problem before it causes a lot of damage. Ignore the problem for long enough, and you will have some expensive repairs to address.
Hard water can become problematic because the minerals react with cleaning products. They can create soapy buildup and cause significant wear and tear for your water fixtures and appliances.
It leaves scale deposits on the tub, shower, sinks, and faucets. That is the most visible sign of hard water damage. The minerals also start to build up inside pipes, fixtures, and appliances. The mineral buildup can gradually lead to several problems like reduced water flow, clogged pipes, and increased stress on water fixtures and pipes.
The mineral deposits can also lead to appliances that use water working inefficiently and wearing down much faster. For instance, a tank water heater will have to work harder to provide you with hot water as the mineral scale buildup in the water tank increases. It will lead to higher energy bills and cause damage to the heater, leading to expensive repairs.
Testing for Hard Water
The easiest way to check if you have a hard water problem is by looking for white scale buildup on plumbing fixtures. If you suspect that you might have a hard water problem, you can also shake up a tiny amount of dish soap and water in a closed container like a glass jar. If the solution doesn’t create plenty of suds, you probably have a hard water problem.
Getting Rid of Hard Water
There are water conditioning products available on the market that you can use to deal with mildly hard water. However, a complete solution for a hard water problem is installing a whole-house water softener. If you are experiencing hard water problems at your home in Orlando, FL, you should call in the experts at Modern Plumbing Industries, Inc.
We will send our technicians to determine how bad the problem is and provide you with the most appropriate solution for the hard water problem.