Hard Water

What Hard Water Does to Your Pipes and How to Stop It

All municipal water supplies contain some degree of dissolved minerals. The type of minerals and the amount in the water will vary, as will the results. For those who live in an area with lots of calcium or magnesium, the result is hard water. Not sure if you have hard water? Check your showerheads and faucets. If you see a whitish, hard buildup, then you do, and it does terrible things to your plumbing.

What Does Hard Water Do to Plumbing?

Hard water can make your soap not lather and can leave you feeling itchy after bathing if you’re sensitive to it. However, it can also do things to your piping. Repeated exposure to hard water can leave limescale buildup (that white residue we just talked about) all around the inside of your pipes.

Initially, that’s fine, but over time it will narrow the diameter of your piping and decrease the flow of water to your faucets and showers. In turn, that can leave you with reduced water pressure, clogs, corrosion, and even damage to things like dishwashers and appliances.

So, what can you do about hard water? Actually, you have a few options.

How to Prevent Hard Water

Homeowners have a few choices when it comes to combatting hard water. One is to install a water softener. These systems use sodium to remove the minerals that cause water hardness. They’re installed at the inlet to the home in most cases.

The problem is that this can leave your water tasting unpleasant. Some people also report that water feels different after softening. And sodium doesn’t play well with some types of water heaters, either.

Another option is to install a descaler. Sometimes called a water conditioner, a descaler works by removing just some of the minerals in your water. That can leave your water tasting and feeling normal, but without the limescale that comes with hard water.

Other options are more reactive than proactive. For instance, appliance cleaners can help remove limescale from your washing machine and dishwasher. A rinse aid in your dishwasher can help get your dishes cleaner (although if you have very hard water, even this may not be enough).