Primer ยท Water Quality
Hard Water in Newmarket Homes
White crust on the faucet, spots on the glasses, a kettle that rattles with scale. That is hard water, and most of Newmarket lives with it.
- Plain steps you can do yourself, safely
- Clear signs for when to stop and call
- Written for Newmarket houses and water
- A plumber on the phone if it goes sideways
What goes wrong in the pipes
Hard water carries dissolved calcium and magnesium. It is safe to drink, but those minerals come out of solution when water is heated or left to evaporate, and they build up wherever they land. York Region draws on a mix of groundwater and lake water, and the regional water quality reports list hardness figures that place much of the supply in the hard range. Homes on private wells around town often have even harder water, sometimes with iron added to the mix.
Scale is not just cosmetic. It narrows aerators and shower heads, coats the bottom of water heater tanks, shortens element life in electric heaters, and leaves a rough lining in drains where hair and soap scum catch more easily.
Have these on hand
- Flashlight
- Adjustable wrench
- Towels and a bucket
- Our number on the panel door
Hands-on steps
- Look up your number. If you are on municipal water, York Region and your local municipality publish annual water quality reports that include hardness. Well owners can get a hardness test done through a lab.
- Clean what you can see. Soak aerators and shower heads in white vinegar for an hour, then scrub. Do the same for kettles and coffee makers.
- Flush the water heater. Draining a few litres from the tank's drain valve once or twice a year removes loose sediment. If the valve is stiff or the tank is old, ask before forcing it.
- Watch the drains. Soap scum and scale together slow bathroom drains. Hot water and a drain screen help; harsh chemicals do not.
- Consider treatment. Inside a softener, resin beads trade calcium and magnesium away for sodium or potassium ions. It is the most common whole-house solution.
Mistakes that turn a small repair big
- Ignoring the water heater. Sediment buildup makes tanks noisy and less efficient, and shortens their life.
- Scrubbing fixtures with abrasives. Scouring pads remove finish along with the scale.
- Buying equipment before testing. A softener set up for the wrong hardness wastes salt and water, or does not work well.
- Using chemical drain cleaners on scaled pipes. They do little to mineral buildup and can damage older piping.
When to put the tools down and call
Call if bathroom drains keep slowing down even after cleaning, since scale and soap scum may have built up past the trap. Our bathroom drain unclogging service handles that. Heavily scaled drain lines sometimes need hydro jetting to strip the walls clean. And if you are thinking about a softener, a plumber can install it with the right bypass, drain and brine connections.
Spring is a good time to give the house a once-over. Our spring thaw basement checklist pairs nicely with a look at the water heater and softener while you are downstairs.
Asked on site
Is hard water safe to drink?
Yes. Hardness minerals are not considered a health risk. The concern is mainly scale buildup on fixtures, appliances and pipes.
Does a water softener make water salty?
Softened water contains some added sodium, depending on how hard the water was. People on low-sodium diets often keep one unsoftened tap for drinking or use potassium instead of salt.