What Are the Consequences of Neglecting Routine Water Maintenance?
Neglecting water maintenance can affect your life in three primary areas: your health, home, and possessions.
Health
There are many ways that water can become contaminated. Unfortunately, while it may be obvious that your water is unclean at times, there are also times when your water may appear perfectly fine but still contain harmful bacteria or other contaminants. Some obvious instances of water contamination are if your water appears cloudy, smells strange, has a strange tint, or tastes funny. Some of the most common waterborne contaminants are:
- Aluminum
- Arsenic
- Barium
- Chloramine
- Copper
- Fluoride
- Bacteria and viruses
- Nitrates or nitrites
- Lead
- Uranium
- Mercury
These contaminants, among others, can cause both acute and long-term problems in the body. However, keep in mind that long-term effects occur when someone consumes contaminated water for a long time, so if you can catch the contamination early, you will likely not have to worry about long-term consequences.
Another area where water hardness or certain contaminants can cause issues is in your shower. Too many minerals in your water can cause your skin, scalp, and hair to dry out or become more brittle. This can lead to uncomfortable itchiness and skin conditions and make it more likely for your skin to get cut when touching objects (this same thing happens in the winter when the air is drier).
Home
Another area of concern when it comes to water maintenance is your home. Plumbing is one of the most complicated parts of a home, and neglecting your water supply can lead to complications such as residue buildup from hard water, which can eventually lead to bursts in your pipes. Additionally, water that has become contaminated can leave staining in showers and sinks, eventually leading to rusting, chipping, or deterioration of tiling — which spells costly repairs.
Possessions
The last main area where neglected water can cause issues is with your possessions. Hard water can cause irreparable damage to certain appliances and cause them to perform poorly. For example, dishwashers and washing machines can have trouble effectively cleaning your dishes or clothes if the water is too hard.
How Routine Water Maintenance Can Solve These Problems
Rather than waiting for these problems to arise, routine maintenance of your water can ensure that you are getting ahead of any problems that may occur. If you wait until you can already see an issue with your water, it may be late enough that other problems have also come up. So, without further ado, here are five of the largest benefits of getting routine water maintenance to make your life easier and more stress-free.
Keep Your Water Clean
Just like all other forms of life on our planet, we need water to live. But, if we drink contaminated or polluted water, we can actually cause our bodies more harm than good. This is why ensuring that the water you have in your home is clean and safe is crucial. Luckily, providing this can be low-cost, easy, and fast with some basic routine maintenance of your water supply and appliances.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), water can get contaminated in several ways. For example, sewer overflows, fertilizers or other chemicals, stormwater, and cracks in water pipes can all allow unwanted and dangerous chemicals into your water. This contaminated water can lead to sickness, especially in children or infants, individuals with weakened immune systems, pregnant people, and elderly adults. To ensure that you can catch these changes in your water supply and ensure you and your family have safe water to drink and use, you’ll want to check your water regularly.
Lower Any Long-Term Costs
While many people may look at routine maintenance as another expense to add to their bills each year, it is important to note that in the long run, the cost of routine checks and maintenance of your water supply and appliances can save you a lot of money. Why is this? Well, if you wait until you have an actual problem with your water, you may end up paying for extensive repairs rather than the much smaller fee of having your water checked regularly.
Catch Problems When They Are Small
This next benefit goes hand-in-hand with the previous one, though rather than focusing on the financial aspect, we’re focusing on the physical toll that waiting until you have a large problem can take on your appliances, home, or even health if you are consuming contaminated water. The faster you can catch problems with your water supply, the more quickly they can be addressed. This means, for example, if your water had become contaminated and it was noted and fixed.
Increase the Lifespan of Your Home Appliances
As we mentioned before, hard water — as well as contaminants and low pH — can negatively affect your appliances. Unfortunately, leaving these problems unchecked can also end up causing much more dramatic issues, such as burst pipes or clogging that cannot be removed from appliances. But, with the proper water treatment systems in place and a routine water maintenance schedule, these issues can be easily combated.
A routine maintenance check can determine whether or not your current water treatment systems are doing enough to combat hardness and contamination in your water. These times are also when any buildup can be removed to prevent future problems.
Enhance Your Water Treatment Systems
Water treatment systems are constantly being improved and updated as new technology continues to develop. Because of this, you may not even notice that your current water treatment system is outdated until something goes wrong. On the other hand, if you are getting routine maintenance, you can more easily keep up with the most effective and efficient methods of treating your water.
Now, this does not mean that you’ll get an entirely new water treatment system every time you check your water and appliances. However, it does mean that you can more effectively ensure that you are using current treatment options that are designed to work for your home.
What Problem Water Solutions Can You Use in Your Home?
Knowing which solution will be the best for your home can be incredibly challenging if you are unfamiliar with what types of water treatment solutions are available. So, before you make any impulsive decisions about which system to get (or take hours out of your day to research water treatment solutions), here is an overview of the four primary types of water treatment options you can use in your home.
Water Softeners
Water softeners remove certain minerals — typically calcium and magnesium as well as other minerals — to prevent your water from being too “hard.”
What exactly is “hard” water, and is it bad for you? Realistically, hard water is not bad for you, but it can cause problems in your pipes and appliances that use water. This is because it leaves mineral deposits behind, which can clog water spouts and affect soap and detergent efficacy.
Chlorine Removal Systems
Another type of water treatment solution is chlorine removal. These systems remove chlorine and chloramine to improve your water. Unlike the minerals in hard water, having a lot of chlorine in your water can cause health problems. Keep in mind that most water supplies have some amount of chlorine in them.
The CDC states that 4 milligrams of chlorine per liter of water are a safe chlorine concentration in drinking water. However, if your water contains more than this amount of chlorine, it may appear hazy or cloudy, have a yellow or brown tint, or smell of chlorine. In these cases, the chlorine level of your water is too high and may result in long-term health problems or more short-term effects such as stomachaches or vomiting.
Reverse Osmosis Systems
A reverse osmosis system is another type of water purification system that uses the process of reverse osmosis to filter out unwanted molecules from your water. The goal of these systems is to remove the dissolved solids (both organic and inorganic) in your water.
UV Light Bacteria Removal Systems
UV light bacteria removal is another way to ensure that your water is safe to drink and free from bacteria or microorganisms that may cause problems. These systems use UV light, which means they can remove these harmful bacteria from your water without using chemicals. They are also quite low-energy to use and keep your water tasting the same.
Conclusion
Taking care to routinely check and address any water issues can save you a lot of money, stress, and possible health issues down the line. This is why, rather than waiting for your water to develop an obvious problem, it is generally better to opt for routine water maintenance and take steps to clean your water as a preemptive measure — rather than as a countermeasure.
But, with so many different types of water treatment options available today, it can take time to determine which solutions will be the most effective for your home. Luckily, you do not have to make this decision alone, and you can get a free water analysis and recommendation from c and j water to ensure that you get the best solution for your needs.
