Design Comfort Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Hard Water’

Why Use a Water Softener in My Home?

Monday, July 27th, 2015

It is easy to take potable water for granted in this day and age. After all, we need only open a tap or activate the washing machine, and water comes pouring forth as needed. Just because you have such easy access to water throughout your home, though, is no reason to assume that the water you have access to is of the high quality that you deserve. One common problem that many homeowners encounter is hard water coming from their plumbing systems. If you have hard water, the best solution to pursue is the use of a water softener in Cottonwood Heights, UT. To learn more about available models, or to schedule any water softener services, just give the pros on the Design Comfort team a call.

Continue Reading

How Hard Water Leads to Boiler Repair

Friday, February 27th, 2015

You may be familiar with the term “hard water.” Sometimes, beauty companies advertise their products as being effective at reversing the effects of hard water on the hair, skin, and nails. In some major cities, residents swear that the crust of their pizza tastes better due to the hardness or softness of the water. Hard water is actually a condition that affects the plumbing system of the majority of homes. But the degree to which hard water is present varies from place to place.

What is Hard Water?

Having hard water means that the water in your house contains minerals like calcium and magnesium. These rarely come along with any health effects, but it can do major damage to different parts of your plumbing. Scale is left behind, and ends up blocking the pipes, damaging dishwashers and washing machines, and costing hundreds or thousands in replacement costs in many cases.

One of the areas where hard water could do the most damage is in your boiler. It’s no secret that boilers are not really easy to replace nor are they cheap. Boiler repair is possible in some instances of scale buildup, but at a certain point, a boiler affected by mineral deposits is simply too far gone.

Early Signs of Hard Water

The first sign of hard water in your boiler is if you hear a clanking or rattling sound. The minerals knock around in the tank, but this noise isn’t the worst of your problems. Pressure in the tank becomes slowly increased as minerals continue to gather and take up volume. Long ago, this could create dangerous conditions. Thankfully, there are safety components in the tank that should shut down the boiler completely if the pressure becomes too high. However, this means you’ll be without any heat at all.

Water Treatment Installation

Most boilers are installed in such a way that hard water is prevented from entering the tank. Boiler feedwater may be treated and demineralized with chemicals, or there may be a purge valve in place to get rid of scale. Ask your technician if your boiler is at risk of scale buildup. You may choose to install a whole-home water softener as well so that hard water does not affect the other components of your plumbing system.

Call Design Comfort as soon as you notice noises in your boiler. We offer boiler repair in North Salt Lake as well as water treatment system installation if you’d like to take preventive action against scale.

Continue Reading