Hard water contains high levels of natural minerals, such as calcium, manganese and magnesium carbonate. While these minerals generally are not dangerous to health, hard water can cause a number of problems in the home, ranging from annoyance issues such as spotty dishes and dingy laundry to plumbing or appliance damage and increased water and energy use. Installing a water softener is the only effective solution to these problems.
The minerals in hard water can create deposits, or scale, in home appliances, such as washing machines, coffee makers, water heaters and dishwashers, that can shorten their lifespan and reduce their energy efficiency. Scale can build up in plumbing systems and clog shower heads and faucets, decreasing water pressure. Mineral deposits in fixtures, such as toilets, sinks and bathtubs, can cause unsightly stains that are very difficult to remove. Hard water also can cake on the hardware inside the toilet, leading to early failure.
Soaps and detergents don’t lather well in hard water, nor do they clean or rinse away as well as they would in softer water. This often leads to dingy laundry, spotted dishes and accumulation of soap scum in bathtubs and sinks. It also leaves more residue on the skin and hair when you shower. Additionally, you’ll use more soap to get things clean, more water to rinse, and more energy to heat that water.
A water softener can resolve these problems by minimize the mineral content of the water coming into your home. These appliances are connected to the home’s water supply piping, treating water before it enters the plumbing system. In the typical whole-house system, minerals are removed from the water by running it through a tank that contains negatively charged resin beads, which attract the positively charged mineral ions, removing them from the water supply. As minerals accumulate in the beads, they are cleaned and recharged by water from the system’s brine tank, which uses sodium or potassium to give beads their negative charge.
Please contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing with your water softener questions or any other home comfort or plumbing concerns. We’ve been serving customers in the Indianapolis area for more than 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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