Why You Want a Water Softener | Excalibur Plumbing

Over the years, you’ve probably heard about “hard” and “soft” water. Hard water is the less favorable of the two and if it’s in your home, you may want to consider installing a water softener.

What is hard water? It simply means that the water that flows into your house is rich in minerals, such as calcium, magnesium carbonate, and manganese.

While these minerals are natural and not usually hazardous to your health, they create other issues, including:

Spotted dishes
Bathtub ring
Dingy laundry
Scale deposits on a coffee maker
Shampoo that doesn’t lather well

Aside from the above annoying issues, hard water creates deposits in the water heater, water-using appliances, and in your plumbing. It also makes it harder to wash dishes, skin, and hair.

Solving Your Hard Water Problem

A huge percentage of Americans have a hard water problem, so it’s no surprise if you have one too. Hard water comes from underground sources such as aquifers that collect dissolved minerals from rock, more specifically calcium, magnesium carbonate, and manganese.

The minerals accumulate, thereby giving the water an undesirable “hardness.” Hardness is measured by the grains of mineral per gallon (GPG). If the water contains more than 1 GPG of dissolved minerals, it is considered hard, though water up to 3.5 GPG is still relatively soft.

If the water has more than 10.5 GPG, it is considered very hard.

Hard Water Causes Scale and Clogs

Hard water isn’t so much as a health issue as it can be a plumbing expense. The problems associated with hard water are often hidden until something goes wrong with a home’s plumbing system.

Much like plaque in an artery, when dissolved hard water minerals are heated, they recrystallize and form scale, which eventually reduces water flow and clogs plumbing. Scale causes problems with dishwashers, coffeemakers, and water heaters as well.

Should you install a water softener? Contact Excalibur Plumbing to learn more!