Does Your Home's Hard Water Pose A Threat To The Drainage System?

Hard water is all too common in homes throughout the United States. It occurs when a large abundance of minerals like brass, calcium, copper, magnesium and iron are absorbed by ground water as it travels through soil near your home. There’s nothing dangerous when it comes to consuming hard water, in fact a majority of the country does so on a daily basis.

According to a recent study, 85 percent of the U.S. has hard water and the metro areas with the hardest water are Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Phoenix, San Antonio and Tampa. With so many Americans battling hard water, can it actually pose a threat to your drainage system?

Hard Water Can Build Up And Lead To Clogged Lines

If you have hard water, it could lead to buildup in your drain lines, as the minerals begin to collect on the pipe’s walls over time and that buildup catches debris, ultimately forming a clog.

You’ve noticed your bathroom fixtures have stains and there’s scummy residue in your bathtub – yes, you have hard water. That hard water can be a menace to your drains too. Over time, the calcium and magnesium found in hard water can accumulate on the walls of your wastewater pipe, which creates limescale – a hard, chalky deposit mostly made up of calcium carbonate.

While the minerals found in hard water – and the subsequent limescale – might actually be too small to physically clog the lines on their own, it can reduce the flow of water by building up and that will begin to catch and collect other natural debris such as grease and soap scum, both of which will harden after getting caught in the buildup, at which point you’ll soon have a clog on your hands. If you have hard water, it actually makes your drains more susceptible to clogs.

We certainly see our fair share of limescale buildup, especially some really extensive buildup from years and years of being left untreated, which creates questions about how to prevent it.

How Can I Keep Hard Water From Building Up In My Lines?

Installing a water softener could help reduce buildup from hard water in your wastewater lines, though routine yearly sewer inspections and drain cleanings will insure your line is buildup-free!

If hard water is giving you stress and wreaking havoc throughout your home, one option would be to install a water softener to help reduce the levels of calcium and magnesium in the water.

When it comes to your wastewater pipes, it’s best to have a professional perform yearly sewer inspections, using state-of-the-art video equipment to determine the current status of your pipes. It’ll ensure that if there’s significant buildup forming, that could soon be a problem, a quick drain cleaning, using a high-pressure water jetter to blast away anything inside, will do the trick.

If you’re worried that hard water could be causing limescale buildup in your pipes, we’re here to perform a video sewer inspection and see what’s going on inside your drains, with around the clock service that best fits your schedule. Give us a call or schedule an appointment online and one of our professionals will come out fast and make sure that everything is flowing its best.