We talk a lot about the damage hard water can cause to your home, but it’s often difficult to comprehend the real trouble those hard water minerals are making. When you run the numbers, it suddenly becomes crystal-clear. Soft water doesn’t just save you time...
Even when our tap water is clear, it can still create stains around the home. Porcelain sinks, toilets, shower heads and faucets can all be affected by water contaminants. Your clean dishes and laundry might show signs of water staining too. The stains can be nearly every...
Using soft water instead of hard water creates a lot of nice changes around the house. Suddenly everything’s easier to clean. Those annoying water spots stop showing up on clean dishes, and laundry starts to feel soft again, not scratchy. But out of all the...
Algae growth in our lakes and reservoirs can really explode when weather conditions are primed just right. Warm temperatures and low turbidity create the perfect breeding ground for the photosynthetic bacteria all over the county. Here in Indiana, the algae bloom season usually lasts from May...
A common misconception about water softeners is that it’s the salt that makes the hard water soft. In reality, the hard water minerals are removed by the resin beads in the softener, but salt still plays a big part. Without it, the resin won’t get...
From running errands to running the lawnmower, gas fuels most of what we do in modern life. It’s a big part of our every day, though sometimes it can be good to get a little distance. We don’t really need a gas station on every...
Areas all across the country are still showing concerns about whether there’s lead in their drinking water. It makes total sense. New findings of lead in tap water have many families wondering if their children are at risk of being exposed. Not just at home, but...
Even if your family is super-diligent about recycling, there are still lots of ways to cut back on your waste. Reducing our dependence on plastic is a great place to start. The EPA reports that in 2013, only 9 percent of plastics were even recycled. Yikes! If we...
When you use a private well, your tap water is probably pretty different from your city water counterparts. Your water might smell faintly like sulfur, whereas the city water could reek of chlorine. You might have rust stains, but they could have hard water spots...
Wondering how to get your ice at home as clear as the restaurant version? Making perfectly transparent ice requires a lot more than just a freezer and some water. When you dig into the science of cloudy ice, you’ll start to see that timing is...