Hard Water: What It Is & Why You Should Deal With It

What Is Hard Water & Why You Should Deal With It

This article explains some of the best ways to deal with the water hardness at ease. Read through the entire piece to know which option suits your needs.

What is Hard Water?

If you can recall back in your science classes, you were told that there is hard water and soft water.

The high chances are that you never found an interest in the topic until you started experiencing the effects of hard water after owning a home.

To refresh your mind…

Hard water is considered to be water containing high traces of dissolved minerals such as magnesium and calcium.

There is little that can be done to eliminate the hardness as a whole since the minerals are collected while the water passes in and around rocks and soils.

Hard Water vs Soft Water

You can’t tell if the water is hard or soft by just looking at it with bare eyes. However, you may observe the effects of this type of water on substances within your home or the plumbing system.

For example, you may start noticing mineral deposits or stains on surfaces such as tiles, chrome, fibreglass, enamel, china, porcelain or chrome.

The hardness may also affect the bathroom fixtures, sinks and dishes.

The hard part is felt as you try to wash your clothes as the water doesn’t foam easily. Washing clothes using this water turn your clothes dingy and can see them wear out fast.

The worse can happen if the water clogs your drainage system. If not corrected, this can blow your drainage system.

Bathing using hard is also known to affect oneself as it leads to irritations and cause dull and lifeless hair. The fact that it leaves you with dry skin is one of the many reasons why you should deal with it in the best way possible.

How to Soften Hard Water

Adding a shower head filter

As said earlier, hard water is notoriously known for causing dry skin. The experience can leave you feeling dirty even after that morning shower.

Installing a shower head filter is the best remedy for this problem. The method works by eliminating the contaminants as the water leaves the faucet.

As a result, it helps curb the accumulation which can clog the water holes hence decreasing the water flow.

With this showerhead filters installed, both your skin and hair will have a lot to thank you for.

Reverse osmosis

There are many ways to deal with water hardness, and among them is reverse osmosis. So, how does reverse osmosis work, you may ask?

Well, this system forces water through multiple fine filters, eliminating the chemicals and organic materials such as calcium and magnesium ions.

It’s, therefore, an excellent option if you want soft and contaminant-free water.

Currently, the market is filled with many reverse osmosis filters to choose from, for your home. Hence, deciding on the ideal option can be a hell of a task.

Thanks to the power of the internet, today, you can find a site out there talking about the filters.

If you browse this page, you will find reviews to help you with the decision about the best deals in town. You also get the chance to know how each filter is exceptional over the other.

One more thing to note is that when you plan on investing in a reverse osmosis filter is that you will need several of them.

These systems only provide water for one point in your home. Whenever you install this system, you must remember to clean it often as this ensures the safety and effectiveness of the water softening technique.

Magnetic/electronic water softener

Recently, the tech industry has been advancing significantly, and the softening of hard water has not been left behind. One of the newest advancements is the introduction of magnetic or electronic water softening system.

This particular device attaches into the outlet clipped onto the indoor pipe. The method works by setting up a magnetic field that changes the electromagnetic properties of the minerals.

By doing this, it causes the carbonates to repel each other and the pipe. As a result, this reduces scale and buildup, which may cause your pipes to burst. You can easily find these softeners on Amazon or local hardware or simply contact us.

Chelation system

Another convenient way to deal with the effects of hard water is by investing in a chelation system.

By adding this system, the mineral ions causing the water hardness will adhere to a cheating agent such as nitro acetic acid.

The chelation system is more of a descaler as it suspends the stubborn minerals in the water. The device doesn’t necessarily soften the water but instead reduce the buildup, which is known to cause pipe breakings.

As a result, this leaves your water with minerals such as calcium, which are healthy for your body.

Template assisted crystallisation (TAC) / Nucleation assisted crystallisation (NAC)

These two systems don’t remove the minerals from the water. Hence, they can’t be regarded as water softeners. What they do is that they change the water form to a form that won’t stick to any surface.

As the water passes through these systems, the mineral hardness converts into a crystal that can’t adhere to any surface.

One advantage that comes with these systems is that they don’t need any electricity leave alone water or salt to function.

Also, you can’t ignore the fact that your water is left with essential minerals such as magnesium, iron and calcium, which are beneficial to your health.

Conclusion

Dealing with hard water can be hectic, especially when the effects are many.

Now and then, you will come across home remedies out there that suggest helping with reducing the mess.

Unfortunately, most of these remedies require you to put in some work. Luckily, this article explains some of the best ways to deal with the water hardness at ease.

Read through the entire piece to know which option suits your needs.