Think You Have Hard Water? Signs That You Do And How You Can Soften It
Hard water can cause many problems in your home as well as for yourself. There are many signs that will show that you have hard water, three of which are listed below. If you do find that your water is hard, below is information on how you can soften it.
Signs of Hard Water
One sign that you have hard water is seeing white spots on the dishes, especially glasses, that you remove from your dishwasher. These white spots come from mineral deposits that are found in hard water.
The minerals in hard water, such as magnesium and calcium, can cause your skin to feel much dryer than it normally does. It can also make you have an itchy and dry scalp. You may not feel clean when you get out of the shower and your hair may be much drier and frizzier than normal. When you remove clothes from your dryer, they may feel scratchy due to these minerals.
Hard water can also cause mineral deposits to grow around your kitchen and bathroom faucets and you may notice soap scum building up in the bathroom, shower walls, shower curtains, etc. Soap scum can be difficult to clean and if you do not soften your water the soap scum will keep coming back. Hard water can also be hard on appliances, such as your water heater, dishwasher, and freezer.
How to Soften Water
The best way to soften water is to purchase a water softener. The water softener will eliminate the minerals in the water and then your water will be back to normal.
There are different types of water softeners available on the market. One type is known as salt free. This type of water softener removes a lot of salt from the water. This is very beneficial if you or someone else in your household is on a low-sodium diet.
There are also ion exchange water softeners. This type replaces the ions that are found in hard water with potassium or sodium ions. This type of water softener does have high salt levels, so this is something to take into consideration. It will help, however, make your dishwasher and washing machine last much longer.
Talk to a company that sells water softening systems and they can tell you of other types that are available on the market, as well as give you more detailed information about the types listed above.