Hard water is a reality that a whole bunch of us have experienced in our daily lives. Sure, it makes showering a bit tricky because the soap doesn’t lather up the way you want it to, and it’s possible you never really feel clean afterward. But hard water has more of an effect on your home than on your daily hygiene.
Have you ever bought a new washer and wondered why it kicked the bucket so soon? Have you wondered why the drains in your sinks and showers don’t work as well as they once did? The culprit just might be hard water.
What Is Hard Water?
Hard water comes from groundwater that is rich in minerals. In fact, if you pour yourself a cup of water from your tap and it looks cloudy, it’s because there are so many minerals in it. That murky result is one of the signs you have hard water.
Some people worry that this might be bad for their health because they don’t want to ingest any unnecessary contaminants. However, hard water can offer some benefits. For example, hard water is full of calcium and magnesium, which are quite good for you.
However, these substances aren’t so great for your appliances.
What Does Hard Water Do to Appliances?
Hard water can cause pipes to clog easily, washing machines to break down, and dishwashers to lose their effectiveness. All of these are things that can cause irreparable damage if not dealt with sooner rather than later. Is it possible to clean these appliances from hard water buildup? Yes, but it is much better to have filtration systems set up so that you can enjoy many years of use from your appliances.
Signs You Have Hard Water
It’s easy for us to get used to our everyday environment, so you might not notice if you have hard water. However, it is something to be aware of because it can greatly affect the performance of many of your appliances. Here are some of the signs you have hard water:
- Your skin dries out. Hard water doesn’t allow you to fully rinse off, which then dries out your skin. Aside from being bad for your appliances, hard water is bad for your skin!
- Not only is hard water bad for your skin, but it’s also bad for your hair! Hard water can cause your hair to seem limp and appear dull in color.
- Even after you wash your clothes, they don’t look or smell clean. They might be a little bit musty and look duller than you want.
- Your pipes clog easily. Because there are so many minerals in hard water, your pipes will clog a lot quicker than those in a house without hard water.
- You have low water pressure in your home. This is again caused by the pipes becoming clogged.
- There is residue around your shower and sinks. This builds up quickly and can be hard to remove and then keep clean.
- Your water tastes funny. This is a huge reason so many people buy filters for their taps!
As you can see, having hard water can be a pain and an inconvenience for a lot of reasons. If you believe you may have hard water, you should have your water tested so that you know where it is on the water hardness scale. Once you know what you are facing, you can begin to look for solutions!
How to Get Rid of Hard Water
When you’re thinking of how to remove calcium deposits, there are a number of ways to go about it. You can add water softeners to your washing machine to make your clothes look and feel fresh. You can buy a water filter for your tap. After showers, you can use lotion to help keep your skin moisturized.
However, the best solution is to nip it in the bud right away. By installing a water softening system in your home, you will be safeguarding all the appliances in your home as a group, in addition to your pipes. This will reduce clogging and make everything work that much better.
If you think you have hard water and want to learn more, please contact RainSoft today!
