How Hard Water Can Affect Your Plumbing System

Not only does having hard water cost more money and often increase your cleaning time, but it can also cause serious damage to your appliances, plumbing system, and boiler. Unfortunately, households all over the UK experience frequent appliance breakdowns and plumbing repairs when they use hard water.

In this article, we will look at the ways in which hard water can affect your plumbing system and how we can help.

What is Hard Water?

Hard water is water in its natural form that has not be touched or meddled with by any chemical processes. It is the most natural form of water you can get and is the closest thing to drinking actual rainwater. Before water reaches your taps, it seeps through the ground where it is naturally filtered by stones and mineral deposits. This is what makes the water hard.

Unfortunately, due to the climate we have here in the UK and our country’s landscape, hard water is widespread, and this can lead to a build-up of limescale, causing damage to plumbing systems.

How Can You Tell You Have Hard Water?

One of the easiest ways to tell whether you have hard water is to look at how much lather is produced by your soap when washing your hands. If you have hard water, it will be particularly difficult to create a good lather of soap.

You can also find out you have hard water by looking at your bathtub or shower head. Hard water leaves white mineral scale on all your surfaces, making them unsightly. Limescale is made up of magnesium and calcium, building up in your pipes and clogging them over time.

Hard Water Causes Clogs

Using water softeners can reduce the negative effects of hard water, such as clogs. Unfortunately, hard water can leave scaly deposits on plumbing fixtures and in pipes, and these can build up over time, causing clogs and corrosion to occur.

By reducing the effects of hard water through the use of water softening systems, you can minimise the build-up of limescale and mineral deposits, reducing the risks of clogs and corrosions, extending the life of your plumbing system.

Hard Water Reduces Flow Efficiency

Limescale reduces the diameter of your pipes by developing a layer around the inside of them, causing blockages and reducing flow-efficiency. What’s more, this can also weaken your pipes and corrode them over time – and nobody wants that!

Reduces the Efficiency of Your Appliances

If you want to increase the longevity of your household appliances, a potential disadvantage can be on the inside of your plumbing system. The scale build-up caused by hard water can significantly reduce the efficiency of your household appliances.

Blockages Caused by Backups

Hard water can cause build-ups in your pipes that you don’t notice until they begin to back up and cause you problems. Unfortunately, many homeowners do not notice there are blockages in their pipes until it is too late. However, simply having your pipes regularly checked and maintained by the professionals can be particularly beneficial.

Hard Water Causes Leaks

It can take time for hard water to ruin your pipes, but it’s impossible to avoid. The problem develops slowly and over time some pipes can spring pinhole leaks that can start under the floor, through sewer lines, and behind the walls of your home. Left untreated, these leaks can waste a whole lot of water and cause significant damage to your property, wrecking your home’s plumbing system.

Common Signs of Hard Water Problems:

• Dripping faucets
• Soap scum in the washing machine
• Less hot water in the shower
• Leaking pipes

You can spot signs of hard water by taking advantage of our CCTV drain surveys. By hiring the professionals at Coastal Drains, you can see inside your pipes and evaluate any damage.

If You’re Worried About Hard Water Damage, Call Our Team

Are you worried that your plumbing is suffering from hard water damage? Call our team at Coastal Drains a call today. We can give you an honest assessment and suggest the best solutions available. Our team of drainage professionals are here for all your property’s plumbing needs. So, do not hesitate to call us today.