Is An Arizona Water Softener the Answer to Your Plumbing Woes?

If you live in the southwestern American desert, chances are you are no stranger to hard water and its irritating side effects. In fact, the Southwest has some of the worst hard water in the country. This nettlesome problem has plagued homeowners for years and can cause numerous and sometimes costly results including hard water stains, corroded valves and faucets, and lackluster hair and skin. Even worse, hard water causes limescale, a hard mineral deposit that is chalky and off-white in color.

Scale is typically found in kettles, hot-water boilers, hot-water central heating systems, and other elements that employ the use of water. Limescale can also clog pipes and damage plumbing systems, as we found out the hard way.

My husband and I discovered the extent of our hard water problem a little too late. The realtor apparently did not know (or forgot to mention) the “minor” problem of the clogged plumbing pipes which had been the result of limescale build up. As the pipes become more and more clogged, the water flow would become restricted, thus dramatically reducing water pressure throughout the house. Not only was this a headache to deal with (showering felt like standing outside in a light rain), it also caused serious and expensive damage to our plumbing and heating equipment. Scale had built up on the central heating unit, insulating the heater, which caused it to use far more energy than it should have, resulting in a premature burnout. Replacing the system as well as having a plumber fix all our pipes was a very costly endeavor (not to mention our high heating costs prior to the burnout) that probably could have been avoided.

After having dealt with this ordeal, we found the best solution was to have an Arizona water softener installed to avoid future problems with hard water. The cost to have one installed was a mere fraction of the costs the hard water incurred in the first place. Not only will a water softener reduce limescale and heating costs, your water-using appliances will last longer, your clothes and dishes will come out cleaner and brighter, and the domestic tap water even tastes better.