The impact of hard water on plumbing and appliances

Your Pipes

Think about all the scale and soap scum buildup on surfaces that frequently get wet. Think of the layers of scum and scale on your faucets, sinks, showers, bathtubs, and dishes. Bear in mind that, while these surfaces get wet multiple times a day, they’re not exposed to water for hours and hours at a time. Your pipes, on the other hand, are almost constantly exposed to water to some extent. So, if the scale buildup outside is bad, you can imagine how it gets inside the pipes themselves.

Wait long enough, and you don’t have to imagine. You’ll see it at the same time your wallet does. With enough scale buildup, you’ll see your water pressure drop significantly. At the same time, that scale has been eating through the pipes, especially if they’re copper or PVC. That means that, by the time you notice something’s wrong, you might have a major leak in your pipes. Trust the early warning signs!

Your Water Heater

Do you like spending money? Do you like spending a ton of it on utilities? We figured not, but that’s where you might be headed. Hard water deposits can absorb a surprising amount of heat; when they form inside your water heater, they steal a lot of that heat from the water itself, which means it takes longer and requires more energy to heat your water to the same point as before. That means you can either settle for colder water or pay increasingly higher utilities for hot water. People with whole house water softening system have seen their utility bills go down by more than a third, you know.