You may have heard the term hard water at some point or another, but maybe don’t know what it actually is. Hard water is water that has a high presence of minerals in it—namely, calcium and magnesium. These minerals are harmless to your health, but the same cannot be said for your plumbing system. Your pipes and your quality of life can suffer in a number of ways due to hard water. Here are some of them:
- Hard water makes it hard for soap to lather, turning cleaning and showering into nuisance chores.
- It leaves buildup on the inside of your pipes, which can lead to clogs and subsequent drop in water pressure.
- It stains your laundry and leads to the quicker breakdown of your clothing and other washables.
Whether it’s a “tap-tap-tap” you hear, a slow drip, or a quiet rush of water even though no plumbing appliances are running, you know it means you probably have a leak—one of the most annoying problems for homeowners to face. After all, even a “minor” leak such as a dripping faucet can waste gallons of water over time. Small leaks trick you into thinking they really aren’t a big deal—until the costs on your water bill start to add up.
The gentle hum of your heating system as you start it up is, of course, nothing to be alarmed about. After all, you know the normal noises of your heating system, which means that you can typically tell when something is “off.” A strange noise doesn’t automatically mean you have a heating emergency on your hands, but it is definitely something to pay attention to, and call for 
With temperatures already taking a nosedive, now is not the time to be facing a broken down heater. Nevertheless, it might happen. Particularly if you had an aging heater and/or if you skipped maintenance for said heater. Of course, the first option is to schedule a 
October is here! We’ve been enjoying the cooler temps, and being able to be outside during the day without feeling like we’re melting. Soon enough, though, those temperatures will drop even lower, and when they do you want to make sure you have a safe and effective heating system in place to keep you warm this fall and winter.
Hopefully, the answer to this can be “none,” if you had professional maintenance done before summer began, and took care of any repair needs you had at that time. But even with a tune-up (and especially without), there are some 
Tank Water Heaters: They’re big, noticeable, often noisy, and seen in the majority of homes throughout the country.
If you’ve never had maintenance done for your air conditioner, and/or it’s broken down to the point that no repair will get it back up in running, then it is too late for AC maintenance. This is literally the only case in which it would be “too late” for a 
If your air conditioner is playing a 1950’s rock song, well… we probably can’t help you. But what we can help you with is literal shaking, rattling, clanging, hissing, and the like. These are all sounds that you never want to hear coming from your air conditioner.
The short answer to this is “yes,” but we’re sure you’d like to understand why.
