When water flows through the pipes, it often tends to pick up different materials along the way. These are fine particles that flow into the water through the streams. However, with the passage of time, they tend to harden. This hard, off-white and chalky material is known as lime scale. You may have seen these deposits at the bottom of your kettle or the hot waiter boiling unit. In fact, these deposits are generally found inside pipes as well, thus reducing water pressure. To understand it better, you need to know the differences between hard water and soft water.
Hard Water vs. Soft Water
As water flows through the underground pipelines, it tends to pick up a number of minerals along the way. This enriches the water with a very high mineral content. As the water percolates through small deposits of limestone and chalk, the amount of magnesium and calcium content in the water rises. You may have seen hard water flowing through your house as well.
It often leads behind a bit of residue on the tub faucets. With the passage of time, you might find the color of the faucet fading away. This is due to the increased calcification caused by hard water. However, hard water can cause some serious issues in a domestic household. You won’t be able to use soap properly, and you will often find deposits of lime in your appliances, such as kettles and water heaters.
On the other hand, soft water is usually surface water that hasn’t come in contact with a lot of lime or chalk deposits. As a result of that, the amount of calcium or magnesium content in the water is generally low. The water can be used freely in domestic settings without causing any inhibitions on suds formation when soap is doused in water. It doesn’t even leave behind any deposits.
What Can You Do About Hard Water?
Hard water can cause lots of issues. It can choke your pipelines, thus reducing the amount of pressure with which water flows through the faucets and showerheads. That’s simply because the lime scale deposits left behind on the inside of the pipes and shower heads can cause serious problems.
However, rather than using conventional water softeners, many people have begun to install descaling systems in order to prevent the deposition of lime in their pipelines and appliances. Many powerful softeners also remove existing deposits from the pipelines. Nowadays, the government has also passed regulations in order to control the amount of hard water, thus making it necessary for people to opt for hard water solutions that can help prevent environmental harm.
