Help! There are Water Stains on my Wedding Ring!
Life is going great. Your job’s good, family’s good. Then you happen to look at your hand one day and notice it. Your diamond ring isn’t nearly as sparkly as it was when it was new. You realize there are spots, and they resemble the spots you’ve been seeing on your glasses and silverware. What’s causing this? And, how can you fix it?
What Causes Hard Water Stains
Hard water is caused by the presence of minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, in your water. When hard water dries, it leaves behind those calcium and magnesium deposits, causing staining. You’ll most commonly encounter the effects of hard water at your sink tap or showerhead, where the crusty, leftover mineral deposits can reduce the flow of water and make your fixtures look dingy.
If you wear jewelry when using hard water, you may have encountered those same dingy, white spots that cause scale buildup in your plumbing and appliances. After enough time, your once sparkling rings and bracelets may lose their luster, appearing dingy and worn.
What Removes the Hard Water Stains from Jewelry?
You can find a multitude of ways to clean jewelry online. These can range from using store-bought cleaners to an ultrasonic machine. The easiest, most cost-effective way uses items most people have right at home. Take a small dish, add a few drops of mild dish soap, some warm water, and mix. Using soft, or even distilled, water when cleaning your jewelry with this homemade solution can help prevent more hard water stains. You can soak your jewelry for a little while, and then use a soft toothbrush to gently clean it. When finished, rinse with warm water and dry with a soft cloth. For any dirt that is harder to get off, a professional cleaning and ring inspection from a reputable jeweler is a good option.
You can also take a few simple steps to help prevent water stains and dirt that cause the dinginess, and that could potentially damage your jewelry. Remove your jewelry before washing your hands, putting on lotion, showering, swimming, doing the dishes, and anything else that puts dirt or impurities on your hands.
How to Prevent Hard Water
The best way to prevent hard water stains is to soften your water. Water softeners use ion exchange to remove hardness minerals. The media in our water softeners is resin beads, which have a negative charge. They get charged with positive sodium ions provided by the salt in the brine tank. The calcium and magnesium ions in the hard water are also positively charged and have a stronger charge than the sodium. As the resin beads with sodium ions are passed by the hard water, the stronger calcium and magnesium knock the sodium off the resin and attach to the resin bead themselves. The calcium, and magnesium are then flushed out during the regular regeneration process the brings in more sodium to resume its spot on the resin, leaving the system ready to provide soft water again.
Worried about Hard Water?
Are you concerned about hard water leaving stains on your jewelry, dishes and more? Give us a call today! One of our technicians will visit your home, test your water, and give you a detailed breakdown of the contaminants and impurities that are influencing your water problems.
We have a full line of Evolve water softeners and will find the solution to all your water problems!