Hard water is water that has a high level of minerals suspended in it, principally magnesium and calcium. This isn’t harmful for drinking; after all, these minerals are found in food. However, those minerals are not good for the plumbing in a home, and they also affect the ability to keep both the house and people in it properly clean. (Soap doesn’t dissolve well in hard water, leaving to filmy deposits, itchy skin, flat hair, and more.)
Hard water is a common problem in Santa Barbara, but it’s often easy for people to ignore when they don’t see the major negative effects. We strongly recommend our local customers to find out if they’ve got hard water and to have a water softener installed if they do. There are plenty of reasons to do this, but we want to focus on one of biggest in this post—hard water can ruin your water heater.
Hard water is a common trouble for many homes in California. Water is considered “hard” when it has a higher concentration of minerals such as magnesium and calcium suspended it. Even the best water treatment plants can’t prevent hard water, since the minerals enter the freshwater supply through groundwater seepage that occurs after the water has left the municipal treatment plant.
People are concerned about the quality of the water coming into their homes. Although most people think of the possible health problems from poor water quality due to lead, pesticides, and heavy metals, a more common problem is with hard water, which is found frequently in Southern California. Hard water isn’t harmful to drink, but it creates serious troubles in the plumbing system of the home. It needs the same attention from water treatment professionals as other water quality issues. The sooner you call after you find out you have hard water, the better!