Hard water may be damaging your water-using appliances in ways that you don’t even realize. Here are a few ways hard water effects your water heater, dishwasher, refrigerator, and maybe even your favorite china.

Appliance damage
Hard water causes scale to build up in your appliances. Scale buildup can cause appliances to work less efficiently and can even reduce their life by 30 – 50 percent. And when scale builds up in your water heater, you could be spending an additional 29% on your water heating energy bill.

Crusty, hard-to-clean, scale buildup and stains
Hard water causes white, crusty scale to build up on faucets and showerheads, which decreases water flow over time.

Clogged pipes
Plumbing hard water throughout the home leads to scale buildup, lower water pressure, and clogged pipes. And if left untreated, those clogs could eventually lead to blocked pipes, or even worse – a burst pipe.

The last thing you need on Christmas is an appliance to break down, scale buildup around your faucets, or low water pressure. By installing a water softener you can save your expensive appliances and eliminate the problems from hard water and scale listed above. Making the choice to install a water softener may save your holiday dinner. You can see how hard the water is where you live by looking at the map on our website.

The post Tips to Keep your Water-Using Appliances Strong for the Holidays appeared first on HomeWater 101.

Bathtubs, faucets and showers are magnets for mildew, soap scum, grime, scale, and stubborn stains. Hard water minerals such as calcium and magnesium can react negatively with ingredients in your bathroom hardware, so if you are living with hard water, you are probably being haunted by stubborn soap scum or scale in your bath tub and shower.

While there are great temporary fixes for this buildup, including vinegar, chemicals, and fabric softener sheets, you’ll spend less time and money on harsh chemicals and scrubbing scale away by solving the core problem with a more environmentally friendly water softener.

A water softener provides a permanent solution to hard water scale. Installing a water softener system in your home’s basement or garage removes hard water minerals from your water before it flows to your pipes and fixtures, reducing scale buildup. You can purchase a water softener at any big box store and install it yourself with a little plumbing know-how.

First, make sure you have hard water and aren’t just a victim of poor cleaning habits. Order your free test strip here and get the results instantly.

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