How to Tell If You Have Hard Water?

How come water can be hard? Isn’t it a sort of liquid?

Yes, it is. But the hardness level is one of the key characteristics determining water quality. It’s essential to know whether the H2O running in your home is hard or not for many reasons.

At some point, this water specification directly affects your food preparation and, mostly – your health condition.

If you have recently observed some unpleasant change in your facial skin, there’s a considerable possibility that you have the right to blame the hard water for it.

And what about the stains in the bathroom? No, it’s not your poor cleaning experience that has caused them. It’s once again the water's hardness.

So, as you can see, it’s worth checking its level on your property.

What’s the Difference Between Hard Water and Soft Water

Water can be hard or soft, plain and simple.

The difference between these typical features has a lot to do with the common determination of the water quality, whether for drinking, cleaning or for other purposes.

Soft water is usually free of any harsh mineral water. On the other hand, its counterpart contains them at an alarming rate. Basically, the minerals that make the water hard are calcium and magnesium.

Health Effects of Hard Water

How come hard water is unhealthy, while it’s nothing else but soft water with more magnesium and calcium? Aren’t these minerals essential for our health? Good question if you are asking it right now.

Indeed, these microelements are crucial for the human body's normal biochemical and physiological processes.

However, you know that the dose makes the poison work negatively. In hard water, the calcium carbonate and magnesium concentration is too high, which means it’s too risky.

Here’s one friendly reminder: when you take food supplements, you’ve always been recommended to conduct the intake with your physician in advance, right?

It’s because some patients don’t need extra minerals or vitamins. If they get it, they will experience an overdose of the concrete elements, which is as dangerous as a deficiency could be.

How to Tell If You Have Hard Water

It’s not only your health condition that hard water affects negatively.

For example, cleaning at home becomes a difficult chore to do when your water is too hard. It’s because the soap and the other active elements in the detergents cannot dissolve in the water.

As a result of this, they don’t work the right way, and the stains remain.

So, by all means, if you have recently seen that your dishes are greasy and quite dirty, apart from calling the plumbing company for technical maintenance, including your dishwasher, you might also need to check the water hardness level.

Here’s a list with the top signals that tell you to do so:

• There are stains on the dishes;
• The dishes get greasy even out of the dishwasher;
• There are soapy stains all over the wet premises – sinks, bathroom and even the WC zone;
• Recently you have felt difficulties in removing one side of the dirt from your body while having a bath, and the applied cleaning product, on the other side;
• Your skin has become drier than usual (Or even worse – dehydrated, itchy, irritated and with clogged pores. And yes, girls – hard water can cause acne!);
• Your hair condition has worsened, too. The hard water can damage the hair structure and cause hair loss. Some people experience brittle ends due to hard water;
• The same goes for the clothes. Taken out of the washing machine and the drying machine, they don’t look freshened up but stiff, rough and not nice to touch at all;
• Recently your water bill has increased dramatically;
• You have also increased the expenses for plumbing services;
• Many bathroom accessories are with derbies. You can look for buildup in the toilet, sinks, and shower.

Easy Ways to Test Your Water

The signs of hard water from above are good enough to check what you drink and use for cooking, laundry, etc. Then, see what you can do to see if your water is too hard.

Check with Your City

The local council has information about the water quality. Inside their H2O index, many factors are included and rated. Within them, there’s a specific hardness level, too. Require a report on the water quality in your district.

Quick In-Home Testing

If you don’t trust the government, as you generally shouldn’t, it’s your turn. Run the test on your own. Use the bottle method. You must fill a clean bottle with some ordinary mild dishwashing soap and water directly from your tap. Ensure it is one-third full, and then add the cleansing product drop by drop. Shake the bottle, and if you see some bubbles inside the transformed in cloudy shade water, then the hardness level is high.

Advanced Testing Methods

There’s a more professional way to test the water hardness at home. Through a commercial product, you can do that relatively fast and precisely. Simply get a water hardness test kit. There are instructions within the pack, so follow them, and you will get a concrete result in less than 5 minutes.

How to Eliminate Hard Water

Don’t panic if any of the tests you’ve made show that you face a hard water problem at home. When there’s a will, there’s a way, including reducing the water hardness level at home. See our options for this purpose.

Consider Installing a Water Softener

This is a costly enough home improvement to entrust, and be confident that there will be a really nice final result. Indeed, the water softener system is a huge investment, but once you go for it, you will experience many benefits that are worth every penny.

Install a Water Filter

It’s also a pro system for water softening but on a budget.

Rather than being connected directly to your central plumbing system, you can save time, money and effort by connecting it to the concrete sink. It’s a good alternative for people who can afford only to improve their drinking water level.

Boil Your Water

For these people who are afraid only of drinking hard water, boiling it in advance is a low-cost alternative to deal with this issue. Now you understand why paediatricians recommend parents provide only boiled tap water to kids. Indeed, it’s the healthiest possible choice for infants.

Use Descaling Products

Scale is the one that creates the spots on your bathroom tiles, kitchen sink, clothes and even hands. You can eliminate it with de-scaling products. For instance, white vinegar is a fantastic way to remove the scale away from your boiling water kettle. However, unfortunately, this method doesn’t treat the cause, only the consequences.

Conclusion

Hard water is not a joke. To some people, it’s a critical living condition issue that should be improved immediately. Even if you are in excellent health, though, experiencing the spots left by hard water isn’t pleasant at all, isn’t it?

It can also be problematic if you try to sell your home, as it can be a major turnoff for potential buyers. So it’s high time for you to do something about it.