February 02, 2013
Life is tough enough without our everyday chores being, well, a chore!
And believe it or not, hard water makes your cleaning chores even more of a pain because of how it interacts with your soaps and detergents.
But before we get into those details, let’s talk about what hard water is.
Hard water is water that has a lot of dissolved calcium and magnesium.
See, when rainwater falls, it’s naturally “soft” (meaning it does not contain dissolved minerals.) But as it makes its way through the ground and into our waterways, it picks up a variety of minerals like lime, chalk, and mostly calcium and magnesium.
According to the U.S Geological Survey (USGS) a large portion of Florida has a high concentration of calcium carbonate, one of the key ingredients in hard water.
So how does this calcium and magnesium affect how you do your chores?
Hard water is the reason you:
Without getting into too much detail, the reason for these problems is how the magnesium and calcium in the hard water reacts with your soap and detergent to hinder their cleaning power.
The result is that you need to spend more time cleaning, and more money on detergent and rinse cycles to get things clean.
Hard water can also shorten the life of your water-using appliances because of how the minerals clog pipes and cause excessive wear on moving parts.
For example, according to the Water Quality Association, “Washing machines used with hard water can wear out up to 30 percent faster. A washing machine, which might otherwise last 10 years, will likely last as few as 7 years where hard water deposits can be formed.”
So, what’s the solution to hard water? To soften it up, of course! You can do this by installing a water softening system to rid your water of the calcium and magnesium.
The benefits of softer water include:
If you’re interested in making life easier by reducing the pains of washing related chores and want to save money in the process, contact Plumbing Today to get your own water softening system. We serve communities throughout Florida and have locations in Sarasota, Tampa, Naples, and Orlando.
Posted in: Tips