If there’s one thing a good home in the Paris of the Prairies needs to offer the most important everyday conveniences to its occupants, it is reliable plumbing. However, unless you, as the homeowner, know how to clean up and maintain Saskatoon plumbing fixtures and piping, you could end up with problems that turn up far worse than with what you started. In any case, one of those things you’ll have to deal with is hard water.
Definition
Water’s hardness generally refers to its concentration of minerals and minute sediments. In municipal water sources, hardness contributors are often calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and certain ions and other compounds like bicarbonates and sulfates. Calcium typically comes in the form of chalk or lime, whereas magnesium comes from a sedimentary rock called dolomite.
Signs
Thankfully, there are ways through which you can easily tell whether or not your water supply’s mineral hardness is reaching dangerous levels. Here are some helpful tips from an article in Diffen.com:
The most common technique to determine the hardness of water is by looking at sud formation with soap. There is less lather formation when soap is used with hard water compared to soft water. Instead a white precipitate (soap scum) is produced. Another way in which water manifests its hardness is scaling i.e. forming deposits through calcification that clog plumbing. These scales are usually white because calcium and magnesium are the most common sources of hardness in water. In swimming pools, a cloudy or milky appearance characterizes hard water.
Sources
Water is an excellent solvent—it tends to carry off just about any sediment that has come into it, which is also why water could be one of the most dangerous causes of soil erosion or weathering. As it passes through soil and rock, it dissolves minute minerals and keep them in a solution that even your municipal treatment plan couldn’t always remove.
Effects
At the outset, hard water could leave deposits (scale) to build up within your plumbing pipes, hindering their efficient function. It could also put a damper on your laundry—because these minerals are metallic, they tend to leave a deep, rusty colour on your clothes when you wash with hard water.
One of the best ways to protect your plumbing and the rest of your home from the adverse effects of hard water is to have it treated by reliable plumbing companies like Perfection Plumbing & Drain Cleaning, Ltd. Calling a reliable Saskatoon plumber to recommend the smooth shift from hard to soft water should help you keep your home life more comfortable and functional.
(Source: Hard Water vs. Soft Water, Diffen.com)
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