When You Have a Water Softener Installed, Keep a Closer Eye on Your Hot Water Tank

If you live in an area that is plagued by a lot of hard water, you may have installed a water softener to take care of the issue. After all, it can be very difficult to clean clothes or dishes, let alone the human body, when you have to deal with the specific minerals in that hard water. Yet, you do need to take additional steps when you fit a water softener if you want to avoid any issues associated with your hot water tank. What is the issue here, and what should you do instead?

Mineral Content

The difference between hard and soft water is in the types of minerals that naturally occur within the water table. There may be a lot of magnesium and calcium in your area, which will naturally find their way into your home through your public supply. Certainly, these minerals are not bad for your health, but many people do not like the way that the water feels on their skin or what it may do to their clothes over the long term.

Changing Minerals

Water softeners are very popular and have many benefits. They can certainly prevent some of those minerals from finding their way into your property, but they tend to swap them out for something "softer" like sodium.

Effects of Soft Water

When sodium gets into your water heater, it can negatively affect it. The sodium can actually make the protective anode device corrode more quickly than it would otherwise, which is not a good idea.

Faster Than Usual

The anode is "sacrificial." It is specifically placed within the tank so that it does corrode and, by doing so, saves some of the other components from a similar fate. Without the anode, the average lifetime of a water tank would be much shorter, and this is why it's important to check the condition of the anode from time to time.

Water tanks today are designed so that a plumber can change a sacrificial anode as needed. However, if you have a water softener system fitted, you may need to bring in the plumber more often than otherwise just to make sure that everything is still in good condition.

Taking Action

So, don't risk running into problems with your hot water tank due to those softer minerals. Instead, bring in a plumber to conduct a full tank service and take care of any problems they find.

For more information on hot water service, contact a professional near you.


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