Hard Water scale accumulates inside the pipes and household appliances, on the kitchen and bathroom taps and other surfaces. This scale is very difficult to remove.
The appliances which usually have the most damage are the dishwashers, water heaters and washing machines. Once the minerals begin to cling to the internal parts of these machines, they begin to falter and eventually fail, because the accumulation of scale leads to clogging of the pipes and internal parts of the appliances. The buildup of mineral deposits clogs waterlines and plumbing, making the appliances work harder and operate less efficiently.
Hard water scale deposits also create serious problems for water heaters. Hard water will reduce the efficiency of even the highest quality water heater and increase the electricity costs by up to 48 %, according to the Battelle Memorial Institute research. The scale deposits problem can be most severe with electric water heaters. Electric water heaters suffer the most from hard water as they can accumulate up to 15 kg of calcium carbonate – a rock-like scale – which will eventually fatally damage the heating element which will need to be replaced.
Hard water scale sticks to pots, pans and dishes, and leaves unsightly stains on the glassware. Scale deposits can be seen on the tiles, basins and tubs in the bathroom, which makes a bathroom look dirty.
The only way to fully remove the calcium and magnesium from hard water is to use a salt-based water softener. The mineral deposits will then be removed completely by running the incoming water through a filter that traps the minerals in the hard water, replacing them with sodium.
A whole-house water softener which has a manufacturer’s warranty, is the best solution. It is easy to maintain, you just need to refill it with salt once in a while. All your problems with hard water will be gone for years. A water softener will pay for itself very quickly and will add value to the household, as it will save thousands of pounds over its life on reduced electricity bills, efficiency and extended life of the expensive household appliances.
