Is Vancouver Water Hard or Soft? Common Issues Explained

If you're familiar with the Pacific Northwest, then you know that Vancouver is a popular destination for many Canadians. There's nothing more breathtaking than the sun reflecting off the surface of cool blue waters first thing at sunrise. From its proximity to those beautiful ocean waves to its lush greenery, rugged mountains and moderate temperatures, Vancouver boasts a wealth of outdoor activities and is known for its excellent quality of life. But, as any resident of Vancouver knows, water is imperative to its way of life. Which is why it's so important to have the best drinking water quality possible. But one common question arises: Is Vancouver water hard or soft?

Overall, Vancouver boasts great water quality, leaning on the softer side at 0.3 grains per gallon. But, it's not as soft as it could be, with its hardness level ranging between 7.9 and 11.8 mg/L. But, what exactly does this mean? What does hard vs. soft water mean for you and the health of your family? What are the disadvantages of hard and soft water and how can you obtain the perfect amount of softness for your tap water? What exactly makes Vancouver water hard or soft?

Read on to learn more about Vancouver water, hard or soft issues and trust our expert Vancouver plumbers to bring clarity to your water systems and find the perfect drinking water for you and your family.

Understanding Vancouver Water: Hard or Soft

With Vancouver's active lifestyle, having access to clean, healthy water is essential. You don't want to finish a run only to have your drinking water taste or smell unpleasant or cause health risks. Whether you're dealing with Vancouver's water, hard or soft, a variety of issues can occur. Hard water can possess excess minerals like calcium, magnesium and iron, which can appliances and plumbing, while soft water can contain high levels of sodium, impacting your family's health. Here are some of the foremost issues with Vancouver's water, hard or soft:

Soft Water Issues

High Blood Pressure: Though there are many benefits to soft water, one of its disadvantages is its high sodium levels. Water is softened using sodium. The resin catching undesired materials is cleansed using sodium. In the ion-exchange, sodium is switched for magnesium ions and calcium. But, these high sodium levels can affect your family's health and cause high blood pressure, leading to complications such as cardiovascular disease.

Corrodes Pipes: Soft water can significantly corrode your pipes. The corroded metal from pipes can end up in your tap water, causing elevated levels of copper and lead in your drinking water.

Negative Environmental Impact: Many Vancouverites choose to live there because of its proximity to nature and environmental initiatives. But, soft water can have a negative impact on the environment as well. Because of the high salt levels, salt can produce build-up in aquatic environments, such as water, streams, rivers and the ocean, compromising Vancouver's marine life.

Hard Water Issues

Unpleasant Taste/Smell: Because of the minerals deposited in your plumbing system through the hardest waters, the elevated levels of magnesium and calcium deposits in tap water, due to the water's interaction with limestone, resulting in a bitter, salty taste, can cause your water to taste or smell badly.

Dry and Itchy Skin: Even in moisture-heavy climates like Vancouver, hard water can make you dry or irritable. The hard mineral content found in hard water can strip your skin of the oils that keep it healthy and moisturized. Hard water also prevents soap from lathering correctly, causing soap scum to build up, clogging your pores and increasing the chances of acne breakouts.

Limescale Build-up and Corrosion: Because of hard water's high mineral content, with the absence of water, these minerals clump together and produce what we know as limescale. Over time and continual exposure to hard water, limestone creates a thick coating that sticks to the inside of your appliances and plumbing fixtures, causing damaging effects on metal and hindering the flow of water. 

Using Water Softening and Filtration Systems

Whether you're struggling with issues with your Vancouver water, hard or soft, we can help! We offer many water treatment systems that can help with both soft and hard water filtration processes:

Reverse osmosis systems: These systems tackle many of the issues in both hard and soft water mentioned above. These systems are ideal for removing contaminants in your water, such as lead, organic compounds, PFAs, arsenic and bacteria. Reverse Osmosis is a process that forces water pressure through a semi-permeable membrane, creates a stream of treated water and pushes out rejected water, known as "concentrate." There are many benefits to this system, such as contaminant removal, improved taste, health benefits, cost savings, environmental impact, and peace of mind.

Salt-Free Water Softeners: One of soft water's main issues is the salt build-up, but salt-free water softeners take care of that! These systems neutralize mineral ions to help with scale control, offering an efficient solution that filters out impurities in your water.

Magnetic Softeners: The systems operate along the same lines of salt-free water softeners, neutralising hard mineral deposits rather than removing them. They can significantly reduce the high level on mineral build up and blockage of pipes on your heavy metals, fixtures, appliances and plumbing systems.

Choose Us To Handle All Your Issues for Vancouver Water: Hard or Soft

Don't let your hard or soft water issues, become a hassle, Vancouver! With our top-tier filtration systems, Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Vancouver will soften your water without the harmful environmental impact or sodium-induced health risks. Don't waste another minute. Invest in our environmentally-conscious water softening systems, promising to transform your drinking water, appliance maintenance and family's health.

Whether you live in Vancouver, West Vancouver or the North Shore, it's time to say farewell to chalky build up, unpleasant tasting water and high sodium levels in your water systems and welcome a softer water system into your water pipelines. Contact our team of water softening experts today and restore your water systems and family's health, safety and peace of mind.