Hard Water and Heating Season: Protecting Your Boiler and Plumbing This Fall
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Hard Water and Heating Season: Protecting Your Boiler and Plumbing This Fall
When temperatures fall, homeowners start preparing and inspecting their heating systems for the cooler months ahead. However, few think about the hard water supplied to their homes. Hard water can impact the plumbing and heating systems considerably, especially during the fall. Let’s understand how it affects homes and what you can do to protect your boiler and plumbing from it.
What Is Hard Water
Water containing minerals in high amounts is known as hard water. Although these minerals are not harmful to our health, they can cause damage to our plumbing and heating systems. When hard water is heated, the minerals present in it get separated from the water and form a chalky white substance called limescale. Over time, this limescale gets deposited inside plumbing pipes, boilers and other water-using appliances, reducing their efficiency and restricting water flow. As this process happens slowly, most homeowners don’t notice it until it causes major issues like lower appliance efficiency or higher energy bills.
Why These Problems Worsen in Fall
In fall, boilers are used for longer durations in homes, which is why hard water issues become more prominent during this time. With the boiler being used more frequently, mineral deposits form faster, acting like insulation and blocking efficient heat transfer. This results in your system using more energy to operate. The extra pressure also causes faster wear and tear on the boiler’s internal parts, reducing the lifespan of the entire heating system. Mineral buildups inside pipes restrict water flow, often causing pressure fluctuations and in extreme cases, even pipe bursts.
Simple Steps to Protect Your Boiler and Plumbing
By following a few methods, you can manage hard water and keep your heating system well-protected. Start by getting your water tested by a professional company to understand its hardness levels. Once you know the composition of your water, you can make the right choice to deal with it. Flushing your boiler or water heater before fall starts can also help clear out sediment and mineral buildup, allowing your system to operate more efficiently.
For comprehensive protection, you can consider installing a water softener. These advanced systems effectively remove calcium and magnesium ions, replacing them with sodium or potassium. This ensures that the water in your home does not form scale inside water-using appliances and the plumbing. In case you are not sure which water filtration system to install, you can contact a professional. They can help you better understand your water quality and suggest the best solutions for dealing with it.
Contact Air and Water Quality
As the heating season begins, hard water is one challenge that should not be ignored. In cold temperatures, it can considerably reduce efficiency, increase energy costs and even lead to premature system failures.
Reach out to Air and Water Quality today for installation of a water softener in Maine. Our skilled team offers reliable installation, ensuring that your boiler and plumbing stay protected from hard water.
