How to Tell If Hard Water Is Causing Issues in Your Home
One of the benefits of adulting is that you get to deal with all kinds of fun homeowner issues, such as maintaining your lawn and combating hard water. After all, you want your loved ones and your material items to be at their best and to protect them for years to come. Fun or not, homeowners need to know if hard water is causing issues. In today’s post, Indy Soft Water describes what signs to look for to identify hard water, and what you can do about it.
What Is Hard Water, Anyway?
Calcium and magnesium comprise two of the main minerals that contribute to hard water. Higher amounts of these minerals directly contribute to water’s hardness.
How Can You Tell the Difference Between Hard and Soft Water?
Water looks like water, whether hard or soft, and no matter the minerals it contains. Therefore, simply inspecting water visually won’t give you any indication. Fortunately (or unfortunately), you can often tell in other ways, some of which aren’t very enjoyable. Keep in mind that these signs bother some people more than others. Indications that you may have hard water include:
- Experiencing a film residue on your skin after washing. Even though you try to lather up with soap, hard water reduces the amount of lather you can produce. Interestingly, and despite the reduced later, hard water leaves behind a residue. Most people describe it as almost feeling like scum that won’t rinse. Indeed, that can be exactly what happens as the products you use react with the calcium in the hard water.
- Seeing spots on glasses and dishes. One of the main tell-tale signs that hard water is causing issues is spotting in the dishwasher. You may run a load only to pull out the tray and see hard water spots all over your dishes. Unfortunately, the longer it builds, the more difficult it is to remove.
- Noticing stains on clothes. Believe it or not, the extra minerals in hard water can accumulate in and on clothes. Over time, the exposure appears evident as staining on clothes. Additionally, hard water can reduce the lifetime of your clothes and wear them out more quickly than soft water due to its harshness.
- Losing water pressure in your pipes. The same minerals that stain clothes, leave spots on your dishes, and make your skin feel like soap scum, can also clog your pipes. Eventually, hard water flowing through your pipes gathers enough mineral deposits that water can’t easily flow. When this happens, you may notice a sizable reduction in water pressure.
How Does Hard Water Compare to Soft Water?
Compared to hard water, soft water has more sodium and less calcium and magnesium. Water softeners work to reduce the problem-causing minerals and introduce more salt. As a result, you achieve better lathering with soap, you experience cleaner clothes and dishes after washing, and you keep water pressure at the right level.
Find out what other Fishers and Carmel residents have experienced with a water softener from Indy Soft Water. Call us today at (317) 228-9822 to schedule an appointment.