Preventing Hard Water Stains in Your Home

Hard water stains can be difficult to remove from items in your home like water fixtures, faucets, dishes, appliances, and clothing. While there are some methods you can use to remove these stains, the best thing you can do is prevent them altogether. Lightfoot Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical can help you determine the quality of your water and come up with ways to improve water quality issues, like hard water.

What Is Hard Water?

Water hardness is determined by the amount of calcium and magnesium that’s in it. When concentrations of these minerals are high, this equates to hard water. Hard water has the potential to leave behind stains on things like your clothing and dishes. These stains are minerals once they have dried. They may be brown or chalky white, and unfortunately, they’re hard to remove. 

Mineral deposits can accumulate on your fixtures and faucets. This can make them look dirty or worn. Over time, these minerals can break down the finish on these fixtures. Stains on sinks and bathtubs are common as well. 

Regarding the interior of your plumbing system and appliances, minerals can accumulate inside pipes and on the interior components of your washing machine, dishwasher, and other appliances. Over time, this can lead to premature corrosion and wear. You’ll be faced with more frequent repairs and a shorter equipment lifespan. This can be expensive over the course of many years.

Hard water can have other effects, such as causing gastrointestinal upset, making your skin feel dry and itchy, and making your hair look lifeless. Hard water can make it difficult to wash away soap and detergent. In addition to hard water stains, you may see soap scum or soap spots dried on your dishes and clothing even after you’ve washed them. 

Spotting Hard Water

There are several signs that indicate you have hard water aside from the obvious stains that we’ve talked about. If you get out of the shower or bath and feel like your skin is still soapy or slimy, hard water may be preventing you from rinsing products away completely. Your skin may feel dry and itchy once you are dry. Your hair may appear to have a buildup of products since it’s difficult to rinse it thoroughly.

You may see a buildup of minerals in your coffee maker or tea kettle if you have hard water. These deposits can be hard to wash away. Water spots on your glasses and dishes are also the result of hard water. You can purchase products for your dishwasher that can prevent these spots from forming. However, addressing the quality of the water throughout your entire home is beneficial. 

Dealing With Hard Water

Even if the water in your area contains many minerals, there are things you can do to improve the quality of the water in your residence. These methods will help prevent hard water stains. 

Water Softener

A water softener is installed near the area of your home’s plumbing system where water comes in from the outside. Calcium and magnesium are removed from the water using the process of ion exchange. A tank of negatively charged resin beads attracts positively charged calcium and magnesium ions. Softened water remains and is pushed through the rest of your home’s plumbing system. 

Maintenance of a water softener is relatively simple. You’ll need to refill your tank with special salt pellets that are used for the ion exchange process. We can also inspect the components of your water softener on an annual basis to ensure everything is working correctly. 

Your water softener will need to go through a regeneration process periodically to recharge the resin beads. This can occur using co-current regeneration or con-current regeneration. Co-current regeneration uses the downflow of brine in the tank. Con-current regeneration uses an upflow of brine solution. This process is usually scheduled to run when water isn’t being used very frequently. Most homes run the regeneration cycle in the middle of the night or early in the morning before everyone is up and moving around in your home. 

Water Filtration

There are different types of water filtration products that you can use in your home to remove some or most of the hard water minerals that are in your water source. Some people install a drinking water system in their home to remove minerals from the water they are consuming. This is an affordable option, but it doesn’t address hard water stains. Instead, you’ll want to consider a whole-house water filtration system. Using a series of filters such as a pre-filter, activated carbon filter, and polishing filter, your water will be much softer as it flows through your plumbing network. You’ll need to change these filters every six months to a year, but the process is usually very simple. Most water filtration systems will alert you when it’s time to change the filters, whether it be using an audible sound or flashing a light on the unit. 

Depending on the type of filters that you’re using, some minerals may remain in your water. Some people like to leave a small amount of calcium and magnesium in their water, as they can be beneficial to our health. It’s when they are present in large amounts that they can become a problem. 

Reverse Osmosis

The process of reverse osmosis features a filter with small pores. As water is pushed through the filter with force, certain contaminants and minerals will be trapped and removed from your water. This setup features a holding tank where your RO water will remain until you turn on a fixture or faucet. The tank will continue to refill as needed. The filters that are part of your RO system will require replacement periodically. You may also need to flush and sanitize your tank. 

Removing Hard Water Stains

If hard water stains do appear, there are methods that you can use to try and remove them. Some hard water stains are more stubborn than others. If you have stains on your fixtures, fill a small bag with equal amounts of white vinegar and water. Use a rubber band to attach the bag to the fixture so the fixture is soaking in the liquid. Leave the bag in place for an hour or two. When you return, remove the bag and rinse the fixture clean. Most of the minerals should be gone. You may need to wipe the fixture down to remove the rest.

If you have hard water stains on your clothing, you can try rewashing the clothing. You can add a small amount of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your machine. There are also special detergents and water softening products that you can add to each cycle that will prevent and remove hard water stains. 

If you are dealing with hard water in your Weatherford, TX home, Lightfoot Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical is available to help you. We offer several methods of dealing with hard water, including water filtration, water softeners, and more. Contact Lightfoot Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical to schedule an appointment today.