Posts Tagged ‘water softener’

Water Softening Sometimes Requires Remineralization

Monday, April 12th, 2021

water-softener-tankWe’ve written about water softeners before on our blog, because dealing with hard water is a common trouble homes in the area face. Hard water has a high mineral content, and there are many problems that these minerals (mostly calcium and magnesium) create for a household and its plumbing. As a quick refresher, here’s why hard water can be bad news for a house:

  • It creates scale deposits inside pipes, leading to clogging, high water pressure, and rapid pipe deterioration.
  • It damages water-using appliances, particularly the water heater. 
  • It leaves behind an unpleasant film on surfaces.
  • Soap dissolves poorly in hard water, which results in soapy residue on skin and hair.
  • It leeches the color from clothing.

But… there’s something else you need to know about hard water minerals. Hard water is not harmful to drink. In fact, those minerals are important ones for your body’s health—they’re part of the essential vitamins and minerals you hear advertised on food products. And this is why we need to talk about remineralization when discussing the installation of a water softener in Santa Barbara, CA.

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Is Hard Water Dangerous for My Family?

Monday, February 15th, 2021

water-for-analysisYou’ve probably heard about hard water and the concerns it can present for a home. The term “hard water” is confusing for people unfamiliar with it, since often the only type of hard water they’re familiar with is ice. What hard water actually refers to is the mineral content of water, specifically levels of the minerals magnesium and calcium. 

The hardness of water is measured as the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water. If a home’s water has 60 mg per liter of calcium or less, it’s considered soft. From 61 to 120 mg per liter is moderately hard, 121 to 180 mg per liter is hard, and more above 180 mg per liter is very hard. 

Unfortunately, in Southern California, levels of hard to very hard are common for homes. For homes with this level of water hardness, we recommend installing a water softener in Oxnard, CA, which counteracts the hard water ions with sodium ions to soften it. 

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Hard Water vs. Your Water Heater—The Bad News

Monday, June 8th, 2020

Wavy-water-lineHard 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.

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How to Tell You Have Hard Water in Your Home

Monday, April 13th, 2020

water-softener-tankHard 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.

Why is hard water a problem? It’s not harmful to drink; minerals like magnesium are found in many foods. The trouble hard water creates is for a household’s plumbing system, appliances, and some basic daily routines. If you believe your home has hard water, we recommend you call our water treatment specialists to arrange for them to install one of our water softener systems in Santa Barbara, CA.

But… how can you tell you need this service in the first place?

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How Hard Water Hurts a Home’s Plumbing

Monday, July 8th, 2019

water-softenerPeople 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!

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