Difference Between Hard Water & Soft Water

If you have recently been looking for a new home or have considered renovating your West Covina home, you may have heard a lot about hard water and the problems that hard water can cause.

Likewise, you may have been hearing about soft water and how great it is. You may also be confused as to what exactly hard water is and what exactly soft water is. Simply put, the difference lies in the minerals contained in the water.

What is Hard Water?

Hard water is water that is rich in minerals like magnesium and calcium. While this water is very healthy for you and causes no problems for drinking or cooking, this water can be difficult on your West Covina home’s plumbing system.

The calcium and magnesium minerals in hard water can often settle out of the water and along the lining of your home’s plumbing pipes.

As it does this, the magnesium and calcium interact with the iron and other elements in your home’s plumbing to create solid deposits that can build up into serious blockages over time.

Combined with water pressure, these blockages have the ability of breaking your home’s pipes and causing significant damage to your plumbing. Overall, hard water is not a good thing for your home and its plumbing system.

What is Soft Water?

Soft water, unlike hard water, is very good for your home’s plumbing. Soft water differs from hard water in that it only contains sodium and no other significant minerals. Soft water doesn’t leave any kind of deposits behind that can damage your home’s plumbing.

Soft water also is better in that it will not leave your clothes and dishes looking dingy like hard water can. All in all, soft water is rather friendly to your home’s plumbing and is much better than hard water.

Now you may be interested in knowing how to get soft water into your home. The simplest answer is to install a water softener and filtration system. The best way to install a water softener is to have a professional install it between your water meter and the main inlet into your home.

Time to Call in the Professionals

A professional plumber has the skills needed to help you find a fantastic water softener that will last you for many years and to handle the installation very quickly.

Once you have installed your water softener, you can rest assured that your home will be safe from the mineral deposits found in hard water that can damage your plumbing.

All in all, making sure that your home has soft water going through its plumbing pipes will ensure that you will have fewer problems in the future.

This means that while you may have to pay for a plumber to install a water softener right now, you will not be facing the issues of significant damage thanks to broken or clogged water pipes thanks to hard water deposits.

Simply put, a small amount of prevention now will certainly save you from serious trouble later.

Knowing the differences between hard & soft water in your West Covina, CA home is important. For more info, call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 today!

Top 3 Fall Home Maintenance Disasters

If you are a homeowner, then you know that regular home maintenance can be one of the best investments you make in your home. Home maintenance isn’t necessarily restricted only to repairs. Certain simple tasks when performed regularly may actually prevent things in your home from breaking in the first place.

By efficiently taking care of routine chores before they escalate into expensive repairs, you can help keep your West Covina home safe, comfortable and well managed.

With fall comes added home maintenance tasks for the homeowner. In order to keep your home in great shape before the rainy days come rolling in, be sure to do your research and always use a professional when necessary.

Here are The top 3 home maintenance disasters that can easily be avoided:

Frozen or Broken Pipes:

Broken or Frozen pipes can be an all too common occurrence seen during the cold winter months and during periods of extreme cold.

So take the time now to check pipes in poorly insulated parts of the home, like around and under sinks, walls, and in tight crawl spaces under the home to avoid disaster.

The air outdoors can severely damage your West Covina Home pipes. Fix dripping taps. Even a very small water trickle can result in a frozen pipe. Frozen and broken pipes can easily compound into extremely expensive water losses if not treated immediately and appropriately. So how can you avoid a frozen or busted pipe before this winter?

Put pipe sleeves on at-risk pipes to insulate them and remember to keep the home consistently heated even if you leave for a few days. Get a neighbor or friend to check on your home regularly when you go on vacation.

You can also open cupboard doors to allow warm air to circulate freely into areas like under the sink. This will also avoid any mold that excess moisture can lead to.

Clogged Drains:

Clogged drains can be detrimental to your home when found on the lowest level of the home. When clogged drains are found beneath the surface, and are not just an uncomplicated clogged sink or shower drain which can usually be a quick fix using few mild chemicals. Stopping clogs can be a formidable battle fought on two fronts.

First, you should be careful about what goes down into your drain. Second, be sure to regularly flush or remove any small debris that can unavoidably form in any drain.

Serious problems are the result of tree roots damaging the drainage system and preventing water from exiting properly. Call a plumbing without delay if you should experience any serious damage.

Hot Water Heaters:

Hot water heaters can be expensive and are unfortunately a necessity. In order to keep your water heater running smoothly, your hot water heater needs to be minimally maintained.

Flushing the tank and checking the anode rod should be done annually to avoid any malfunctions. Adding insulation can be implemented to reduce heat loss by up to 45 percent monthly and can save you as much as 9 percent off of your water-heating bill.

Using a professional plumber

The plumbing systems in your home perform a critical function to the comfort of your daily life. That’s why our you should always call a plumbing professional before tackling any serious issue found in or around your home.

Often, you will only damage your home more by trying to fix a serious problem. Leave all necessary and extreme issues to your highly trained local plumber. They will have experience working with all different types of plumbing issues and problems to avoid a fall maintenance disaster.

If it can go wrong, it will – unless you keep up with a regular maintenance schedule. Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 to get your West Covina, CA home inspected.

Common Causes of a Toilet Not Flushing Properly

Sooner or later, a toilet will not flush properly in your West Covina home. While it’s an inconvenience for sure, it’s also a problem that in most cases can be easily rectified. However, because there are many reasons behind it not working properly, care should be used when looking to solve the problem.

If there is any doubt as to the cause of the problem, it’s always smart to contact a plumber to assess the situation. Otherwise, what begins as a minor problem that is easily fixed could turn into a much bigger and much more expensive problem.

Clogged Rim Holes

Often a potential cause that is overlooked by many, clogged rim holes can greatly affect a toilet’s ability to properly flush. Over time, lime and various other minerals build up in the rim holes, eventually clogging them up.

When that happens, there is a decrease in pressure as well as volume of water to the bowl when it is flushed. If the holes are severely clogged, the toilet may be unable to be flushed.

A plumber in your West Covina area, can check the holes to see if they are clogged, and then manually clean each hole until they are free of dirt and debris.

Inadequate Water

In most toilet tanks, the water should fill to a spot equal to one inch under the top of the overflow tube. If this does not happen, the water level in the tank will be too low to let the toilet flush properly.

In some cases, the tank’s float ball can be used to increase the water level inside the tank. Since the ball is held in place by a metal arm, it can sometimes be manipulated by a plumber to rest higher and allow the water level to reach an acceptable level.

Clogged Toilet

When people attempt to flush too much toilet paper at once or flush certain materials that should not be flushed, the result can be a toilet that won’t flush properly because it is clogged.

In these cases, a plumber should be called to fix the problem immediately. An auger can be used by the plumber, which in most cases will solve the problem.

However, in cases of severe clogs, it’s possible the drain line will need to be replaced, which can prove to be costly. By making sure nothing is flushed down the toilet that could cause problems, this issue can be one that is easily avoided.

Your West Covina, CA home toilet issues can be a nuisance to the whole family. Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 today, and let’s get your toilet back to its flushing state!

Choosing the Right Water Heater for Your Home

Choosing a water heating system for your West Covina home is an important decision that is not made so often. Therefore, it is crucial to make the decision carefully. In many West Covina households and business premises, 15 to 25 percent of energy usage is directed towards water heating.

While considering the many options available, a customer should choose a unit that is both efficient (considering the energy factor rating EF), and meets their water heating needs adequately.

The higher the EF of a unit the more efficient it is. Apart from the feature differences, consideration has to be made on the space available for the water heating system to be fitted as they come in different sizes and shapes.

Storage Water Heaters

These are the conventional and most common type of water heating system available. However, it is not efficient as it uses more energy to keep the large storage tank of water hot all the time.

This is even when no one is using the water. The system keeps the tank stratified with hot water at the top and incoming cold water at the bottom. It can be positioned in basements, garages, or a closet. The capacity ranges from 20 to 120 gallons.

Tank-less Water Heaters

These forms of heaters also known as instant water heaters or on-demand heaters come in different forms. The systems either heat water with a gas burner or an electric element as the water passes through.

They heat water when needed and do not have a storage medium. Though they are more expensive to set-up, they do not take up much floor space as they hang from walls like for showers and kitchen use. In the long-run, their energy usage is more efficient and is an excellent choice for residences that are occupied on a part-time basis.

Solar Water Heaters

These are water heating systems use outdoor panels that take advantage of the sun’s rays to heat water before it is directed to a conventional water heater or insulated hot water tank.

When necessary, like on less sunny days, the water is additionally heated by the conventional system using gas or electricity. There are two categories of solar heaters: active; which uses pumps and controls to get the heat to the water from the solar collector, and passive where the water flows naturally.

The initial costs of set-up are relatively high, but, the savings made in the long-run can be upwards of 50 to 80 percent of the initial water heating bills.

Not sure what water heater works for your West Covina, CA home? Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885, and get the best advice from the professionals.