(CaCO3) = 2.5(Ca2+) + 4.1(Mg2+)
Hard chemical equation? No, just hard water. No matter which way you diagram it, hard water is a real problem . . . especially when it comes to commercial use.
At McHenry Pressure Cleaning Systems, we know a thing or two about hard water. We know it wreaks havoc on your pressure washing equipment. It also makes your cleaning process a lot more arduous. Why throw away time or money?
Our customers come from a variety of industries—heavy equipment, trucking, agriculture, mining, and manufacturing—but you all have one thing in common. You clean commercial sized equipment and facilities. Due to the large scale of your projects, it’s important for you to have reliable pressure washers. Unfortunately, hard water causes quite a few problems with cleaning equipment.
The majority of the country has some level of hard water. Temporary water hardness is caused by calcium bicarbonate. Permanent water hardness is the result of built up minerals and salts, including calcium, magnesium, and manganese.
As a rule of thumb, water is considered hard when it exceeds 3 grains per gallon (gpg).
Like plaque in your arteries, hard water leaves behind buildup inside hoses, fittings and coils. It damages your equipment, causing you down time and costly repairs. Hard water is particularly damaging to pressure washers, and can shorten their life expectancy.
Scaly deposits form inside the pressure washer heating coils, reducing the flow of water and minimizing the heat exchange. This results in significant wear and tear on pumps and unloaders. Hard scaled equipment has a shorter lifespan. Repairing the damage can be quite expensive as we have to descale your entire pressure washer.
Your cleaning jobs are also more time consuming using hard water. Hard water does not rinse as well and wash results are usually not optimal. With hard water, you also have to use more soap and detergents to complete your cleaning task. Why spend this extra time or pay the extra money?
If you suspect you have hard water, McHenry Pressure Cleaning Systems can provide a free simple hardness test. You may prefer to purchase a kit to test your own water. Local water companies can also measure the level of gpg’s in your water supply. For further help, check your yellow pages under “water analysis.”
We encourage all our clients to use a water softener. Research shows that softening your water can save up to 30 percent in energy, 35 percent on detergent use, and 25 percent on downtime costs for repairing damaged pressure washers. For the sake of the environment and for your business bottom line, please consider softening your water.
If you currently have hard water and suspect that your pressure washer may be affected by hard water build up, contact McHenry Pressure Cleaning Systems or stop by and we can access the damage. We can also give you tips on how to avoid hard water buildup in the future.