What Makes Water So Dangerous To Your Appliances?
No matter how much you wash your dishes, they always exit your dishwasher covered in a film. Try as you might scrub them clean; they’ll end up just as “dirty” the next time you wash the dishes. Is it your detergent? Or are you a nasty dishwasher?
Neither! It’s your water.
By no fault, the water in your home has a high level of dissolved minerals. Specifically, your tap water contains calcium and magnesium from natural sources. Minerals naturally occur in all water, but they become visible when they reach high concentrations. This phenomenon is what is known as hard water.
There’s no need to be embarrassed, however. Chances are, all of your neighbors are also suffering from hard water.
Why Is Hard Water Bad?
Generally speaking, hard water is not dangerous. It can be a crucial source of calcium and magnesium in a person’s diet if ingested. However, where it does have adverse effects is your pipes and appliances. When heated, the calcium in hard water becomes calcium carbonate. This compound is the same one that gives all of your dishes that dirty look no matter how much you wash them in hot water. It does little damage to the plates, but the inside of your dishwasher? Calcium carbonate slowly builds up in the water lines of your appliances and leads to reduced performance. Eventually, it may even clog them entirely and lead to a complete failure of the machine.
How Do I Avoid Hard Water?
Unfortunately, if your water source provides you with hard water, there isn’t much you can do to avoid it. However, you can deal with hard water in your home using filtration systems and water softeners. A water softener can replace the magnesium and calcium in your water with sodium. This mineral will neither clog your pipes with limescale nor cloud your dishes.
Protect Your Home From Limescale Build-Up!
The limescale hard water produces can destroy your homes, water lines, and appliances. But, before that happens, contact a friendly and knowledgeable plumber to help you determine how to best deal with your hard water. Contact Diamondback Plumbing at (602) 674-3255 today for help dealing with your hard water.