The plumbing system in your Upland, CA, home faces unique challenges from hard water. Hard water carries a high concentration of minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, that build up over time in your plumbing fixtures and pipes. The mineral buildup reduces your plumbing system's overall efficiency. You may not notice this at first, but over time, you will see an increase in your utility expenses. The plumbing system might also face some of the following issues:
- Water flow is significantly slowed.
- Potential blockages are forming.
Even the most essential plumbing component—your water heater—faces hard water challenges. Scale settles at the bottom of the tank, and when that happens, your heater is significantly less efficient at heating water.
Hard water has consequences that reach well beyond plumbing efficiency and directly impact the quality and longevity of your plumbing system. The minerals in hard water can corrode pipes, exacerbate leaks, and damage many plumbing fixtures, like faucets and showerheads. Indeed, the very minerals that make hard water hard also make plumbing fixtures considerably more likely to leak. That’s a direct and very noticeable hit to the efficiency of your plumbing. Beyond efficiency, watch out for the aesthetics of your plumbing fixtures. The next time you take a look at your showerhead, if it may not achieve that aesthetic function, consider that it might just be a hard water problem. On top of that, there are all kinds of possible complaints about using plumbing fixtures beyond just looking at them. Indeed, they might be very hard to use in terms of turning them on and off!
It's vitally important to explore effective and long-term solutions if you want to counteract the harmful effects of hard water on your plumbing system. A water softener is an effective method. It reduces the concentration of hard water minerals—most notably calcium and magnesium—that are responsible for scale buildup in piping, fixtures, and appliances. Meanwhile, those of us living with hard water are advised to regularly clean and descale our these same fixtures and appliances if we want them to last. (Professional cleaning may be warranted for particularly sensitive components.) You also should consider having a pro inspect your plumbing on an annual basis. That way, potential problems can be caught early, before they're able to cause significant damage or disruption.