There are two types of scaling that are on my mind this morning. The first is the kind that comes from hard water. Hard water is simply water that contains elevated levels of dissolved minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium, picked up as water moves through rock and soil before reaching your tap. It’s measured in grains per gallon (GPG) or parts per million (PPM) with the gradation definitions being Soft: 0–3 GPG, Moderate: 3–7 GPG, Hard: 7–11 GPG and Very hard: 11+ GPG. San Diego typically runs 15–25 GPG — well into “very hard” territory. Where you notice scaling is the white crusty scale on faucets, showerheads, and around drains that comes from the mineral deposits from the water. I’ve had to take a sanding block to our faucet heads in our bathrooms several times to get the buildup off…not an easy task. That’s what first tipped me off to this problem. Then there are the telltale spots on dishes and glassware after washing and the soap that doesn’t lather well and leaves a film. It can even cause filmy residue on skin and hair after showering as well as stiff, scratchy laundry. Kim and I have never experienced any of those telltales.
Hard water is not really a health concern since calcium and magnesium are actually nutrients, but it’s hard on household infrastructure and appliances, which is why it’s worth addressing in a place like San Diego with my copper pipes and at least one tank water heater (I also have one continuous water heater for the kitchen side of the house)… that and the other appliances that use water are the concern.
To be honest with you I don’t think I’ve ever spent any time worrying about or thinking about the sustainability of my plumbing. But today we had our annual pre-summer visit from our HVAC technician. What used to be a routine service provider has now, thanks to a series of private equity roll ups, become a very high-powered and sales-driven business. I grew up in the era of private equity and understand all the good things that can come from forcing economic efficiency on businesses that have become complacent or over-bloated. But it’s equally true that some businesses can be whipped into an unproductive frenzy by virtue of forcing an unnatural emphasis on revenue generation on a business that should emphasize service quality. I believe that is happening in the HVAC business, specifically with my provider. Because I prioritize HVAC, I’ve always made sure that our HVAC was working well. I’ve had my issues over the years with this house, but for the last few years, I feel I finally have things just right in… fact for the last two years, the service technicians who came to the house reinforced that view by telling me that the system seems to be in fine shape. Music to my ears. Then this year, a new fella has shown up and told me three things; that one of my condensers needs a new part, that my plumbing is at risk from years of ignoring hard water buildup, and that I desperately need a water softening system. I’m happy to have my condenser fixed before the season starts, so that I will do. I know for a fact that my 28 year-old house and plumbing is nowhere near being at risk from hard water buildup. But he did make me stop and think about the fact that I did not have a water softening system.
It’s fairly easy these days to research a household issue of concern (thank you Claude). I started by asking Claude if hard water was a problem in San Diego. Claude told me what I stated above, which is that San Diego does have a hard water problem. Claude also told me that there’s no way it’s so bad as to take what would normally be a 75 year useful life for copper plumbing and reduce that to an issue of concern at 28 years. Claude went on to explain the differences between salt based water softeners, and the new carbon filtering systems that seem to be preferred and are considered both more eco-friendly and better for personal health by virtue of not eliminating useful minerals from the water and adding sodium to the water. I decided to ask three friends who live in the area how they approach the hard water issue. Mike, who is usually my go to infrastructure guy, was rather blasé about the issue because he had a filtering system installed in his house when it was built and has never bothered to think twice about it since. Faraj, who also built his own house was aware that he had not installed a household filtering system or softening system and was very curious to hear what my research would tell me about the issue. Then there’s Joe, my local scientist who is both a physicist and a chemist, and pretty much a skeptic about anything I or anyone else tries to tell him that touches on science. Joe has lived in Chicago and in Boston and claims that our water here is far superior to the truly hard water that he experienced in both of those places. He felt that whatever I was being told by the HVAC guy was pretty much all horseshit. He also said that the information from Claude may have been skewed because our water here in North County is probably much better than the San Diego water.
That proved not to be the case. Our local water provider is Valley Center Municipal Water District (VCMWD). It gets its water from a blend of sources; imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (via Colorado River and State Water Project) plus some local groundwater. The groundwater component is what makes it interesting. Local wells can push hardness even higher than urban San Diego (Oops, Joe). VCMWD water tends to run on the harder end even by San Diego standards. Reported hardness is typically in the 18–25+ GPG range depending on the blend at any given time. The groundwater mix varies seasonally, so hardness fluctuates somewhat. Bottom line: If anything, our hilltop water is likely at the harder end of the San Diego range, which strengthens the case for a TAC (carbon) conditioner. Our pipes, water heater, and appliances are working against pretty mineral-heavy water year-round.
I then remembered that when we renovated our kitchen, we installed two mini-TAC water filters on our two kitchen sinks specifically to improve the quality of drinking water. I will add that these filters take harmful organic material out of the water, but do not really reduce or change the mineral content. I’ve learned from my local trustworthy plumber who says he installs a good number of water filtration systems for clients, that a household system for our size house would cost about $6500. That initially seems like a lot, but then when you add up the cost of water heaters refrigerators, icemaker and washing machine you very quickly realize that the substantial appliance investment might be worth protecting. On the other hand, I always think about the useful life of anything I add to this house since at age 72, I do find myself wondering how many years we are likely to stay here.
As I prepare for my trip back east I have a logical excuse to ignore my hard water issue (if indeed it is an issue) until I return. That should give me enough time to completely forget about any scaling issues and go back to my peaceful enjoyment of my hilltop. I would rather not think about useful life and potential deterioration of my copper pipes, so it’s an easy issue to put on the back burner and perhaps forget about forever.
I started by saying that there were two types of scaling that were on my mind. I explained one version so I should mention that the other has to do with the little rough patches that appear here and there on the sun-exposed parts of one’s body. Those little scaly patches that we all get as we age and that a dermatologist is sure to want to biopsy. Given the state of the American medical profession, I’m beginning to think that it’s toss up between dermatology and HVAC servicing as to which profession is more prone to exaggerating risk as a revenue opportunity. I’ll spend the next week thinking about both types of scaling and let you know what I decide.