📖 GLOSSARY · CONCEPT
What is a hard water?
Water high in dissolved minerals — very common in Arizona, and it scales up valves, heaters and screens.
Hard water carries dissolved calcium and magnesium that precipitate out as scale on anything hot or restrictive: inlet valve screens, heating elements, spray jets and ice maker fill tubes. In Arizona it is a fact of life rather than an exception, and it shortens the life of every water-carrying appliance in the house. Cloudy glassware is usually mineral film rather than damage — it dissolves in vinegar, whereas etching does not.
Where you’ll meet it
Repairs that involve hard water
Related terms
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