There are some legitimate reasons why people really hate hard water. Below we will give you the top 10 reasons and we’re pretty confident that you’ll agree with us.
- Scale buildup: Hard water has a variety of minerals that cause scale buildup. The two main culprits are calcium and magnesium. Buildup doesn’t just occur on water fixtures such as faucets and showerheads, but it can show up within the inner walls of copper piping. This is especially common on joints or elbows and over time the mineral content of water will eventually accumulate and create pits on the copper and cause a pinhole leak.
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Soap Scum: Believe it or not, hard water and soap do blend well together. Minerals in the water cause a reaction with the soap. The result is scum on your skin, hair, and of course, your shower/bathtub. If soap scum isn’t cleaned right away, it will become harder to remove since it forms as layers. With each shower/bath you take, another layer of scum forms on top of the old layer. This will continue until the soap scum is cleaned or scraped off.
- Dull hair: Hard water does terrible things with hair. It leaves a mineral residue on the surface, causing it to look dull and feel dry. If a whole house water softener is used, hair looks and feels amazing. People who use soft water can vouch for the effects and claim that their hair feels softer, has more volume shinier, and not dry/brittle as it used to be when they were using hard water.
- Itchy/irritated skin: If you haven’t figured it out, minerals in hard water can cause a lot of problems for people. Skin gets irritated when calcium builds up and settles on the skin, which causes redness, itchy skin, and rashes. If a person has preexisting skin conditions, hard water can aggravate it and make conditions worse.
- Dishwasher: Hard water leaves a thin film on dishes, all thanks to the minerals. Sometimes the film can be easily wiped off, but oftentimes it becomes etched in the glass and will need to be scrubbed off with vinegar or some sort of descaling solution.
- Laundry: All thanks to hard water, whites will look dingy, and colors look faded. This happens because the minerals will cling to the fibers and a residue much like the same type that it leaves in the dishwasher is left. At the same time, clothes will not be as clean as you’d expect. Remember on #2 where it was mentioned that soap and hard water do not react well together? Your clothes will be the victim of that scenario.
- Scale buildup on tea kettles, coffee makers, and humidifiers: Limescale buildup happens anywhere where water has been present. This is especially common on items that deal with hot water. The heat accelerates evaporation and when the water is gone, that’s when the crystal-like formations start to occur on surfaces.
- Water pressure affected: When pipes start to accumulate limescale, it can and will affect water pressure in various parts of the home.
- Taste: Hard water does not taste good at all compared to reverse osmosis water. The mouthfeel/texture of tap water is very apparent. Due to the minerals present, hard water has a thicker, fuller feel than RO water and for many, that taste and texture are not palatable.
- Hard water spots: If you like to wash your car at home, then you know the struggle and frustration of making sure you dry your car off before the water spots set in. Once hard water spots are in place, it takes special chemicals to remove them from your paint and windshield. With soft water, hard water spots won’t be an issue. The soap you are using will actually clean your car better since it won’t have a negative reaction with soft water, plus it will leave your car’s finish feeling smoother.
Now that we’ve gone over the 10 reasons why people hate hard water, why not do something about it? Get rid of all that hate that hard water has caused, and fall in love with soft water. Installing a whole house water softener isn’t as complicated as most people make it out to be. But if you’ve got some basic tools and your home is plumbed to accept a softener, then you should be able to handle the job. If not, a local plumber should be able to install it without any problems.
By installing a water softener, you’ll be able to skip all the aggravating 10 reasons mentioned above. Instead, you’ll be able to take showers or baths that doesn’t leave soap scum, your dishes won’t be left with a cloudy residue, clothes will look more vibrant and be cleaner, no more limescale buildup on water fixtures and appliances. Furthermore, you will love how much of a difference your skin and hair will look and feel once you start using soft water.
