Hard Water Information For Homeowners

Posted on: 5 November 2018

Homeowners that are needing to address hard water can find themselves unsure and ill-equipped when addressing this particular water quality issue. While a water quality test can confirm or deny the presence of this problem, there may still be other questions that you have about this problem and the steps that can be taken to correct it.

How Does A Home Develop Hard Water?

The exact cause of your home's hard water can vary depending on a number of different causes. In many instances, this issue is simply a byproduct of the local water source having higher mineral concentrations. However, it can also be the result of years of sediment and minerals gradually gathering in the plumbing lines. 

Does Softening Address Sediment In The Water?

You might assume that a water softening system would be able to also filter out all of the sediments that may be in your water. However, that is not the primary function of these systems, which can make them poorly equipped for this particular task. Furthermore, extremely high sediment contents can interfere with the functioning of these systems. If your home's water has high sediment concentrations, you may need to install a separate filtration system that is designed to remove these materials from the water.

How Will You Know Whether The Softening System Needs To Be Serviced?

A water softening system will need to undergo regular servicing to ensure that it is able to continue to remove the minerals from the water. During this servicing, the system will be cleaned and the salt the removes these minerals will be replenished. It can be difficult to know whether this work needs to be done by observing the system.

For example, a water softener with degraded salt may still mechanically function, but it will not be effective at removing minerals. To best way to meet the serving needs of your water softener is to set a schedule for when this work will be done. Most water softening systems will have a recommended maintenance schedule that you can follow to help avoid the risk of problems with the system developing.

In order to prevent the types of problems that hard water can create, a water conditioning system will be needed to remove the minerals that harden the water. By having an appreciation for the various causes of hard water, the fact that a separate sediment filtrations system may be needed along with the benefits of following the recommended maintenance schedule, you can keep your water softener working efficiently.

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