What Causes White Flakes in Tap Water?
Any time the appearance of household water is unusual, people are naturally concerned. White flakes in the water are a concern for some homeowners.
Tri-Florida Water Treatment of Auburndale, FL, would like to address this concern by explaining what the white flakes are and whether or not they should worry you.
The kind of water that comes from your tap
Most tap water is what’s considered “hard water,” to one degree or another. This just means that it contains an abundance of nutrients, such as calcium and magnesium. These two substances are what give water its hard taste and cause spots and buildups on cookware, dishes and faucets.
Two main causes of white flakes
In cold-weather parts of the world, calcium can freeze within the water. When the water thaws out, the little frozen calcium particles don’t always dissolve. They’re not still frozen, but they remain intact and appear as flakes in the water.
An overabundance of hard water minerals can also produce very small flakes in the water that comes out of your tap. This can happen without the water freezing.
Are water flakes dangerous?
If the flakes in your water are comprised solely of calcium deposits, then no, you won’t be in danger if you drink water with them in it. There’s a possibility that the flakes could be something other than minerals fusing together, but this can’t be determined without a proper water test.
While white calcium flakes aren’t dangerous, they can be troubling. For many people, seeing stuff floating around in the glass of water they’re about to drink causes unease. And, of course, if you have super-high levels of calcium and magnesium in your faucet water, you’re going to have a lot of spots on dishes, scaley buildup on pots and pans, and crud around your home’s sinks.
Hard water also can upset the pH balance of the skin, making it a less-effective barrier against disease transmission. Finally, regular hard water use can cause itchy skin or an itchy scalp in some people.
But as to being harmful, hard water isn’t, as long as your municipality has properly tested and treated it.
The alternative to white flakes and other hard water issues
If you live in a city or region where the water is particularly hard coming from a municipal water supply, having a water softener installed is your best strategy for eliminating all the effects of hard water.
Water softeners can treat some or all of the water sources in a home. They remove the calcium and magnesium and turn your water “soft.”
The technology that makes this happen is quite advanced, but the result is pretty easy to grasp:
- Literally overnight, you have delicious water that’s smooth and easy to drink
- Your pots, pans and dishes aren’t covered with spots
- Your sink and tub faucets stop collecting the minerals that lead to ugly buildups
Call your Florida water treatment experts
Tri-Florida Water Treatment is here to help with all your household water needs. We install water softeners that will instantly solve your hard water problems. We also offer complete water purification systems to take your water and health to the next level.
If you’re tired of white flakes in your water, call us today at (863) 965-1439. You can also reach out with our simple contact form.