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Have you noticed your water pressure just isn’t what it used to be? If you live in a state that has hard water, like Arizona, Utah, Texas, Nevada, or Idaho, you may have a buildup of scale throughout your plumbing. Here at Landmark Home Warranty, we may have a solution! This is an overnight and natural solution that will help you dissolve some of the scale buildup in your pipes.
States like Arizona, Utah, Texas, Nevada, or Idaho have a higher chance of having their home systems and appliances breaking down faster than their intended lifespan because of hard water scale. Read through our article Hard Water vs. Soft Water to learn more about what hard water is and why it can leave behind scale in your pipes and appliances. When rainwater goes into the ground, it dissolves minerals in the rock and carries them into the piping of your home. Then, when that water is heated, it leaves minerals behind on your showerheads, glasses, dishwashers and other home appliances and fixtures. This is called scale. That hot water within your pipes leaves a bit of scale behind while it is traveling to your sink, shower, or washer. That's why you may need to get rid of the scale within your pipes.
But how do you know your pipes have scale inside of them? One way that you may know is if the water pressure within your home seems to decrease over time. That is sometimes due to the showerhead or faucet collecting scale. Before you worry about descaling your entire plumbing system, first try Landmark Home Warranty’s DIY tip on How to Make Your Showerhead Like New. If the water pressure hasn’t gotten any better, then try to descale your plumbing using this natural overnight tip.
Here is a quick, overnight DIY tip to de-scale your pipes, increase your water flow, and save yourself a lot of money each month!
Here is what you’ll need:
- 2-gallon jug of vinegar
- Water heater
HOME WARRANTY TIP:
You may be wondering why we will be using a water heater to clean out the scale in the plumbing. Since scale is built up only by hot water releasing the minerals onto different surfaces, only the hot water plumbing lines will need to be cleaned, and those come directly from your water heater.
1. TURN YOUR WATER HEATER OFF
If your water heater is electric, make sure to turn your water heater off. If it is a gas powered heater, turn the light to "pilot" and turn off the water supply valves to your tank.
2. ATTACH A GARDEN HOSE TO THE BOTTOM VALVE OF YOUR WATER HEATER
You'll need to drain part of your water heater in order to put some vinegar inside of it. To do this, you will also need to turn on the hot water faucets within your home. This reduces the vacuum that is created when you start to drain your tank.
3. DRAIN PART OF YOUR TANK
You will be putting in a two-gallon jug of vinegar, so drain approximately two gallons of water from your tank.
3. POUR TWO GALLONS OF VINEGAR INTO YOUR WATER TANK.
To do this, you will have to open one of the holes going into the tank.
5. TURN WATER HEATER AND HOT WATER SUPPLY VALVES BACK ON
This will make sure the vinegar and water mixture will go through the plumbing in your home.
4. OPEN HOT WATER TAPS AROUND THE HOUSE UNTIL YOU SMELL VINEGAR.
After, close off the water taps and let it sit for at least 6 hours. During that time, the vinegar will hopefully eat away at the scale within your pipes as well as the scale at the bottom of your water heater.
10. FLUSH WATER UNTIL YOU CAN NO LONGER SMELL VINEGAR
Although vinegar isn't dangerous to eat or drink, that doesn't mean that you want to!
There you have it! Your pipes should hopefully be cleaned from a bit of the scale build-up. If your water pressure still isn't what you want it to be, you can try this a few more times as there might be some stubborn scale that hasn't gotten dissolved. If that still doesn't help with your water pressure, you should call your home warranty company or plumber because it could point to bigger problems within your pipes. Here at Landmark Home Warranty, we enjoy teaching people about how to fix problems that could be causing you and your family stress about being homeowners. If you want to learn more about plumbing issues you may be experiencing, check out our plumbing articles here. You can also explore more about how a home warranty can protect your home by reading through our homeowner reviews, written by homeowners just like you!