Restaurant owners know that water is essential to the operations of their kitchens and dining facilities in more ways than one. Not only do they rely on water to serve to guests and use in the meals they prepare, they also need to wash dishes, clean their equipment, wipe down their tables and make beverages such as coffee.

The quality of water directly impacts the customer experience: As an ingredient, it influences the way food and beverages taste. Coffee made with hard water, for example, might taste funny and even unpleasant to some diners. Glasses washed with hard water often takes on spotting or cloudiness, lessening the appeal of the establishment.

For restaurant owners, using substandard water can also raise their expenses. For instance, it requires far more dishwashing soap to achieve enough suds when the water is hard. Equipment may need to be cleaned, repaired or replaced more frequently, as well, if scale builds up and causes damage or prevents machinery from functioning correctly.

As an example, coffee brewers in Whitehorse, Canada, are experiencing challenges as the hardness of the city’s water increases. The minerals in the water built up on equipment such as kettles, coffee-makers, espresso machines and water heaters – causing some of them to stop working. Because traditional water softener solutions that use chemicals can alter the taste of the coffee, cafe owners are seeking alternatives.

One way to mitigate the negative effects of hard water on restaurant operations is to treat it with Hydrosmart’s water conditioning technology. Without adding any chemicals, this approach uses resonance frequencies to alter the way minerals are dissolved in the water, preventing and removing scale. This reduces the amount of cleaning supplies restaurants need to use, facilitates spot-free washing, lowers bacteria counts and helps franchises ensure a consistent taste across their locations.