Is Toronto’s Hard Water Making You Sick?
Is Toronto’s Hard Water Making You Sick?
A new research study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences drew a connection with showerheads that sprayed hard water and a prevalence of bacteria linked to pulmonary, or lung-related, disease.
Toronto in particular has a water hardness rating of 7.5 which isn’t too bad considering some nearby municipalities are much higher. Woodbridge is 16.2, Aurora and Newmarket are 17, Richmond Hill 17.2, all have water hardness readings more than double that of Toronto. Yet some lucky municipalities have exceptionally low water hardness, Parry Sound is 4, Ottawa is 3, Bracebridge 2.
What Does Water Hardness Mean For You?
If you own a tankless or are thinking about getting one you should have the system flushed once a year to remove the scale and build up that is left from heating water with dissolved minerals. If you’re living in an area with high levels of hard water than you may want to increase the regularity of the tankless flush. A flush will remove build up and your tankless will regain all of its efficiency.
If you have a conventional tank and live in an area of hard water than you need to know the facts. Firstly a conventional tank can’t be flushed and thus scale and lime deposits will continuously build up in your water heater. With the presence of hard water the build up will occur faster reducing your water heaters efficiency by over 2% a year. A conventional tank starts out life at about 60% efficiency, this drops significantly as scale build up and insulates the heat from the water.
Secondly test done on tank type water heater are done with soft water, or water with very little dissolved minerals. So your tank may have a lifespan of 12 years in ideal conditions but in reality it may be reduced by more than 25%.
Water Softeners
A water softener will break down and dissolve the minerals like calcium, iron, and magnesium that are present in hard water conditions. These are effective systems that not only protect the homes residents but also mechanical systems. A homes softener can remove the minerals and stop the build up of scale where bacteria can reside in a shower head. Its recommended that you dip your showerhead in vinegar once a year for 30 minutes to remove any scale build up that has occurred.
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