While hard water may not be a serious threat to your health, it can certainly have significant effects on other areas of your life, making household tasks more difficult and causing long-term damage to your clothing, skin, hair and appliances.
The average American family of four uses about 400 gallons of water every day, for everything from showering and cleaning to washing dishes and doing the laundry. If you have hard water it can have a significant impact on your daily life.
Disadvantages of Hard Water
Hard water in the laundry, for example, can cause soap curds to lodge in the fabric during washing and leave clothes feeling rough and stiff. It may cause graying of white fabrics and the loss of brightness in colored ones. Over time you may even start to notice an undesirable odor, and it could shorten the useful life of your clothes.
Dishes and glasses washed in a dishwasher using hard water may end up spotted when dry. Hard water can also cause a film of dots on glass shower doors, shower walls, bathtubs and sinks that require significant scrubbing and harsh cleaners to remove.
Bathing with hard water is discouraged as it leaves a sticky coat on the skin, doesn’t lather as well (so you have to use more), and may not remove bacteria and dirt as effectively. Soap residue may even lead to irritation and dryness, and make hair dull and difficult to manage.
Hard water also contributes to inefficient and costly operation of water-using appliances. When limescale forms in kettles and water heaters it may cause breakdowns. Heated hard water forms a scale of calcium and magnesium minerals that can damage appliances such as your dishwasher or washing machine. Pipes can also clog due to the mineral content of hard water, reducing water flow and demanding pipe replacement. In extreme conditions, it may cause breakdown in commercial equipment such as boilers, cooling towers, and other large-scale equipment.
Benefits of Adding Soft Water
As much as possible, we want options that contribute to making lives better. Soft water is less harsh and preserves the color and texture of clothes, the softness of skin and hair, and the efficiency of water-using appliances.
Here at Kinetico Utah, we believe everybody deserves soft water to make life easier and cleaner. We offer home filtration systems that soften water to make everyday activities a breeze. Contact us today to find out more about your water treatment options.