When it comes to cleaning and maintaining your window, the quality of the water you’re using is not exactly a thing that immediately pops into your mind. Water quality varies, and its effects vary. Hard water, for example, can benefit your health since it contains essential minerals; conversely, the increased mineral content is a detriment to cleaning.
What Is Water Quality?
Water quality is dependent on its biological, chemical and physical composition. Polluted water, for example, is low quality, but pollution doesn’t always mean it’s manmade. Hard water is technically polluted since it contains minerals that that water can’t or haven’t dissolved fully.
Is Hard Water Bad for Cleaning?
Hard water is not as effective as soft water when it comes to cleaning as it contains calcium and magnesium that interferes with the foaming and cleaning properties of soap, essentially limiting its effectiveness.
Hard water also has high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS). TDS are inorganic and organic materials that exist in mineral-rich water and are virtually invisible to the naked eye. A high concentration of these TDS causes spots and smudges to appear on glass during cleaning and even cause stains on metal-based roofs. It’s for these reasons that hard water isn’t used for window cleaning and exterior maintenance.
Softened Water
Water that’s softened has had its mineral contents removed and along with its TDS. This means it won’t stain or cause smudges or invisible damage through the faint minerals it carries. Soft water also requires less soap to thoroughly clean the windows, which saves you money on cleaning reagents.
At Tri-County Contracting, we always use soft water for all of our exterior services. Through our thorough cleaning, we make sure your windows look good and stay that way for years to come.
Get in touch with us at (262) 679-6100 to learn more about our services. We provide window and roof replacement services throughout Waukesha, WI.
