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.
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?
The Signs of Hard Water in Your Plumbing
The most straightforward way to learn if you have hard water is to schedule professional water testing. We offer this service, which analyzes water from different places in your house and then provides a breakdown of issues such as acidity, chemicals, hard metals, and hardness. Even if you don’t believe there is anything wrong with your water, scheduling testing every few years is a good precaution.
There are specific warnings signs of hard water that aren’t difficult to notice if you know to look:
- Hard water deposits: The calcium minerals in hard water leave a flaky, whitish deposit on faucets and other taps. They also create a filmy layer over glass and other surfaces. If you notice that your glassware is coming out of the wash with a filmy, soapy layer on it, it can mean hard water. You’ll also notice this on the glass and walls of the shower.
- Soap lather: Hard water makes it more difficult for soap to dissolve in water. If you can’t work up a good lather of soap when washing your hands, bathing, or trying to clean surfaces, it often warns of hard water.
- Flat hair, dry skin: The combination of mineral deposits and soap that doesn’t dissolve well will cause people in your house to have flat hair from showering and itchy, dried skin. If staying comfortably clean is difficult, hard water might be to blame.
- Faded washing: Are your clothes and other fabrics coming out of the laundry with faded colors? This is a common effect of hard water.
- Water heater trouble: Hard water is especially harmful for a water heater because the heat inside the tank dissolves the minerals from the water and turns them into limescale along the inside of the tank. This will cause the tank to begin to overheat and make rumbling sounds. If technicians examine your water heater and find limescale, it’s time to have a water softener installed.
A water softener eliminates issues from hard water by placing sodium ions into the water that swap places with the hard water ions. It’s a natural process, and our technicians can take care of installing the water softener that will safely get rid of your home’s hard water woes.
Husted Plumbing serves the Greater Santa Barbara and Ventura County Area. Schedule service today for water treatment system installation.