How Hard Water Affects Your Appliances

You may know about hard or soft water, from having to descale your kettle every now and then. Some areas of the UK however, have a higher level of hard water than others. The south and east of England tend to have harder water, where Scotland, the North and Northern Ireland are generally soft water areas.

What is hard water?

Hard water is when there is a high concentration of magnesium and calcium in the water; these cause a build-up of scale. This affects anything that runs on mains water in the home, such as taps, shower screens and kettles.

Homes with a mains water supply in hard water areas may find that this affects the effectiveness and lifespan of their kitchen appliances.

How does it affect your appliances?

While drinking water with trace elements of these minerals is safe, it will affect long time functionality of things such as kettles, washing machines and dishwashers.

Thinking about a kettle, it’s easy to see the scale forming. If it forms around the spout where water is poured or filled, it may affect the taste of your tea or coffee. Eventually, scale will also build up on the heating element that boils the water.

As more scale builds up, the water will take longer to boil meaning the kettle will become less energy-efficient and will require more energy to do its job. More power means more electricity used and a higher household bill. If this is left and not descaled, the kettle may stop working completely.

To protect your kettle or coffee machine from the effects of hard water, you can invest in a filtering jug. For your other kitchen appliances, it can be a little more complicated.

Protecting your washing machine

Limescale can build up in your washing machine, including within the drum, pipes and filter. Regular cleaning, much the same as your dishwasher (below), is a good way to stay on top of limescale. You can buy descaler for your washing machine; just run it through the detergent section of the drawer and complete one or more cycles as needed.

Protecting your dishwasher

Unless you’re installing a water softener in your home, you can’t stop hard water getting to your dishwasher, washing machine and other appliances. These steps may help however:

• White vinegar: always check your manufacturer’s instructions first, but you may be able to use white vinegar (or even baking soda) to wipe down any traces of scale inside the dishwasher. This appears as a chalky residue and can clog up the appliance if left.

• Descaling: you can run descaling liquid through your dishwasher to shift any deposits that have built up. Some manufacturers recommend you do this at least once a month.

• Rinse aid: this will help the items you’re washing by helping to remove all traces of dirt, grease and scale that can appear on your plates, cutlery and other kitchen accessories.

Water softeners

Although you can help to limit the amount of limescale  build up in your appliances by completing the above maintenance, it will be an ongoing job if you live in a hard water area.

You could opt to have a water softener installed; these help to reduce minerals in your water and therefore limit the limescale build up.

By buying a water softener or regularly descaling your kitchen appliances, you can help to prolong their lifespan. This will also help you to avoid having to call engineers out as much as possible.

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