You’ve heard hard and long about hard water and how it can ruin anything it touches. Well, how will you know that you have hard water in your home’s taps at this exact moment and you need a water softener system? Here are some signs that will tell you just that.

Signs Of Hard Water

Appearance Of Limescale

This is one of the most obvious signs, but if water has excessive calcium and magnesium in it, then it will deposit in the form of a scaly, slippery substance, known as limescale. It is whitish yellow in color and it can get stuck to your clothes, dishes, and everything that comes in contact with the hard water.

It can scratch the dishes up, make glass brittle, and ruin the overall appearance of things. So, you want to see this pesky substance whenever you feel like there’s something wrong with the water.

Stains On Dishes

The next sign has to do with weird-looking blotches on the dishes. This is really common with hard water, too. If you have hard water and you wash your utensils and dishes with it, then you will see the appearance of blotches and scale on the dishes, too.

It can also weaken the dishes and one wrong move can shatter things like glass and even fine China or porcelain dishes. So, if you don’t want your perfectly good cutlery and utensils to go to waste, then keep them away from hard water as much as you can.

Stained Faucets

The next sign involves the sink and the faucets, and if you have stainless steel sink and faucets, then the stains will be as clear as day. Hard water has calcium and magnesium in it and the precipitates can get stuck on the stainless steel surface of the sink as well as the lip of the faucet.

This is not as harmful, but it doesn’t look appealing at all. Your sink and faucet will look really dirty and if it is something that has been happening to you for a long time, then it is time to get the water tested, because there might be something wrong with it.

No Lather

This is also a very common sign of hard water. When you go ahead and use soap with hard water, not only does the soap produce scum, but it will not produce any lather, no matter how much you try to work the soap in between your hands. You’ll run out of soap and detergent, but there will be no sign of lather.

This is really wasteful and you end up with a scummy layer of soap and no luscious lather at all, which is not what you want.

Weird Taste & Smell

Hard water also has a very characteristic taste and smell. When you taste the water, it will be very tart and not neutral tasting at all. When you sip on regular water, it doesn’t have any taste. Hard water is borderline bitter and it is so hard to gulp it down.

Also, the smell of hard water is pungent and metallic. It is nothing like regular water with a decent concentration. It is really hard to even get this water anywhere near your nose and mouth, and it’s best that you don’t even try, because you won’t stand it. For clean drinking water, you should install a water filtration system Meadville.

Condition Of Clothes

When you wash clothes with hard water, they can turn really dry and stiff. There will also be huge deposits of scale on the clothes too and if you think that you can get them off well, then you’re mistaken, because they are very much permanent and they are not going anywhere.

You will end up ruining your clothes by washing them a lot and the fibers will all rumple and things just won’t look good. So, you want to try your hardest and not wash delicate clothing in hard water to avoid laundry problems. Things like silk, cashmere, and embroidered clothes should be washed with soft water.

Plumbing Problems

Limescale doesn’t just make the sink and faucets all stained up and dirty, but it can also clog the pipes. This can lead to excessive plumbing work and that is not good at all. If you have hard water and suddenly the water pressure is extremely low, then you best believe that limescale has clogged the perfectly good pipes and it is going to need replacement.

This is really tedious, but you have to do what you have to do, otherwise, your water supply will be affected and that is not ideal at all. During the replacement process, if you can’t access tap water, you can hire a water delivery company to deliver bottled water to your home.

Appliances Breaking Down

Limescale is a very pesky substance and it can also cause your appliances to break down. If you use things like water filters or coffee machines and hard water is fed into them, then you will see that the scale will clog up the appliance and cause a ton of problems.

These appliances are really delicate and they have a lot of small valves and spades in them where limescale can find a permanent home and wreak havoc. So, you want to try your best to keep hard water away from your precious appliances, because the repairs and replacement will cost you a lot.

Increased Electricity Bills

Limescale can also cause the pipes to leak and corrode, and if that is the case and it goes unnoticed for a long time, then your eyes will bulge out of your sockets when you see your bill. This is really bad, because this is something that can easily go unnoticed and you won’t know that there is a leak or breakage in the pipe until it’s too late.

So, if you see hiked electricity and water bills out of the blue, then don’t take it lightly. There might be something wrong and hard water will most likely be behind all of this.

How To Deal With Hard Water Problems?

Now that you know the signs that point to hard water, the next thing you want to do is get rid of it and that is done by testing the water first. You have to know the mineral and salt content before you go ahead and install something that will deal with the hard water. Here are two ways by which you can get rid of hard water.

Get A Water Softener

The easiest way to get rid of hard water is to get a water softener. If you have very hard water in your house and the test results exceed the normal limits by a huge extent, then you need to get a water softener. It will soften the water through the ion exchange process.

Use A Water Conditioner

A water conditioner is like a water softener, but not exactly. It conditions the water by removing magnesium and other impurities, and even though the results won’t be as great as a water softener, it is still quite a lifesaver.

Conclusion

Hard water can be a problem, but if you spot the signs, then it won’t be and you can employ different methods like using a water conditioner or considering water softener installation Warren to get rid of it.