Have you ever seen a white chalky substance build up on your sink’s faucet, shower nozzle, or around your drain? If so, this is a sign of hard water damage.
Hard water is water that hasn’t been purified of minerals, particularly magnesium, sulfates, and calcium. When rain falls from the sky, it’s pure. But as it sits in metal aquifers and gets pumped through your city’s water system, it collects particles and minerals.
For homeowner’s hard water is a nuisance and can cause damage to your pipes, drains, and faucets. Here’s how to fix – and prevent – hard water damage in the future.
1. Find the signs
Hard water damage doesn’t just manifest as chalky film on your faucets. It can also appear as rust colored grime around your drain. It also might not appear right away, but you’ll notice that your skin still feels filmy and a little drier after you shower. You’ll also notice that your water, coffee, and tea tastes different when you brew it with hot water.
If you’re unsure whether you have hard water, do a Google search on your city’s water-hardness level. You might be surprised.
2. Prevention is your Best Friend
The only solution right now is vigilance. If you have hard water, cleaning your faucets once per week goes from being a nice thing to do to being something you have to do. Unless you clean your faucets regularly, the minerals in hard water can build up, damaging your pipes and costing you for repairs.
Towels are an on-hand asset in your battle against hard water damage. Right after showering, use a towel to absorb the moisture. Minerals from hard water cake on when water’s left to dry naturally, so drying off your shower after every use is an easy, convenient way for you to prevent the problem.
3. Don’t scrub!
If hard water minerals are already caked on your faucets, don’t worry! Even though you’ve scrubbed and scrubbed and nothing’s happening, you can still get it off. Have your appliances looking as good as new again with a white-vinegar-water solution. Mix 1-part white vinegar and 1 part water in a bag. Put the bag with the mixture over your faucet and secure it with a rubber band, twine, or reuse a metal tie from a loaf of bread. Let it sit overnight, rinse and dry, and voila! Alternatively, you can soak towels in white vinegar, wrap them around our faucet, and leave overnight.
When it comes to hard water residue, vinegar and water can also work on your showerhead. Remove the showerhead, soak it overnight in a vinegar-water solution, rinse thoroughly – mind in and around the holes – and make sure every bit of mineral is taken off before reinstalling.
While you were taking care of hard water damage, did you notice other damage that needs the pros to fix? If so, give us a call today! Does your bathroom need a makeover anyway? Ask us about our tub-to-shower conversions and our complete bathroom remodeling services.