We’re Michiganders. What others call a snowstorm, we call Tuesday.
But even though you are built to brave the cold Michigan winters, there’s a good chance your home needs an extra boost. If you have hard water, like 85% of homes across the country, the wintertime can exacerbate issues you’re likely already experiencing.
Find out how upgrading to a whole-home water softener and purification system can protect your home from damage and improve your overall water quality.
Softened Water Can Prevent Pipe Damage
Hard water mineral buildup often shows up as white crust on your glassware or fixtures. While you can eventually get your faucets to sparkle again, hard water also wreaks havoc where you can’t see – on your home’s plumbing systems.
In general, high temperatures cause expansion, while cold temperatures cause contraction. So even if your pipes are well insulated from the cold, they will constrict or shrink when temperatures drop. If you have an older home, this contraction can lead to pipe corrosion, potentially releasing heavy metals like lead or copper into your water supply. Even if your home isn’t old enough to have lead or copper pipes, you may still have hard water mineral buildup inside your pipes. In this case, the constriction will make it harder for your home’s water to flow through the pipes, leading to lower water pressure and an increased risk of pipe blockage.
Purified Water Reduces Appliance Wear
The same crusty buildup that clogs up your pipes can also cause damage inside your appliances. Water heaters, which work overtime in winter, are especially prone to hard water mineral damage. But the excess calcium and magnesium can also cause buildup in washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerator water lines, coffee makers, and other small appliances, causing these essential appliances to lose efficiency over time. In the long run, hard water mineral buildup can cost you thousands of dollars in appliance repair and replacement costs.
Clean Water Helps You Enjoy Your Home
If your home’s pipes are releasing more contaminants into the water (as we mentioned earlier), you’ll likely notice a change in your water’s taste and quality. Once you get to the point of noticing a change in taste, we would recommend that you call a professional for a formal water test to determine which contaminants may have leaked into your home’s water and how to mitigate the problem.
Even if your water looks and tastes fine, it may still be impacting your family in small ways. Bathing in water that contains excess minerals can lead to mineral buildup on your skin and hair, causing dryness and itchiness. If you install a whole-home water softener, you can use less soap and experience cleaner hair and skin.
Ready for the Next Step?
The best way to prevent these common winter-time issues is to install a whole-home water softening and purification system. You can prevent unwanted mineral buildup around your home and ensure you have pure and fresh water flowing through your taps, no matter the season. If you already have a water system in your home, this is the time to make sure you have changed filters, added softening salt, or have called your Wolverine Water expert for a tune-up.
Stay warm out there, Michigan! And don’t forget to call your Wolverine Water team if you need help improving your home’s water quality this winter.
