Why your tap water is causing you a Headache
As you take a shower look around, do you see all that white crust on your shower head? Near your spout? Notice all those water spots on your glass? That is all symptoms of hard water and calcification. And since we live in California, our water is pretty hard. And that sucks for us, but that does not mean there is no hope.
What is hard water anyways?
Hard water has a broad definition depending on where you live and who you are talking to. Here at Four Star Plumbing, we consider any water filled with chemicals and an over abundance of miscellaneous minerals to be hard. Pretty much hard water is just water that has picked up a lot of extras as it traveled from its original source to your home. It can have things from the pipes it traveled from, from the original location, or for disinfection.
Why is it bad?
Well, it is not technically bad but it’s what it can do to you and your home. Your tap water if its from a reputable water source is fine to drink and use. But, there is a caveat to that, hard water wreaks havoc on your home and in some cases on your body. There are now numerous studies being conducted about the effects of this water. In fact, a recent study out of India (We know its not the United States, but give it a read because we have similar conditions in our water here at home). The study is mostly about the health benefits of leaving minerals in your water, but it has an interesting section on eczema. In a nutshell, Countries with the hardest water had higher concentration of childhood eczema. Hard water can have a lot of additives called Chloramines, these commonly cause rashes and exacerbate other skin issues you may have.
Want to know what kind of additives and minerals are in your water? Click here to go to a website that allows you to input your zip code and see what is there.
As for your home? Well, hard water is not its friend in the least.
3 Reasons Hard Water Is Bad for Your Home
- Calcification: Calcium build up does more damage the longer is has to grow. It can shorten the life of your fixtures, offset the taste of your water, and slow the flow of water to your home.
- Pin Hole and Slab Leaks: Hard water can do some weird things once it’s in your pipes. the chemicals in it called chlorimides can react to your copper and cause it to degrade until it pops a leak.
- Damage to Fixtures: Hard water and the chemicals it contains can really shorten the life of your faucets, showerheads, dishwasher, and really anything that uses water. Calcification and other additives wear down the rubber and internal mechanisms that make your home fixtures work.
What Can You Do To Stop Hard California Water?
While you cannot and should not wish to have these disinfectants and minerals taken out of your water, there are several things that you can do to lessen their impact on your homes pipes.
- Look into purchasing whole home water filtration systems. These are amazing products that clean and purify the water before it reaches any of your fixtures. It is like drinking, bathing, and having water bottle quality water in your entire home.
- Another good option is to look into purchasing a HALO ION magnet to place near your water main. This amazing device helps “pull apart” common minerals in your water, this makes it so they are separated long enough for use. It really helps in controlling calcification-like build up from hard water.
- Repiping your home. Repiping your home in newer types of pipe, like plastic aquapex, can save you from costly small repairs later by changing everything out at once and trying to minimize the chance for leaks.
- Having routine plumbing inspections on an annual basis to see where problems are developing and try to minimize their impact. This is only temporary and eventually something more long term would need to happen.
Unsure what to do? Give us a Call Today for peace of mind and more information.
