Understanding the Effects of Hard Water

Are you using hard water in your home? Here are some things you need to know. Keep reading!

Photo: Christine Sheldon Design

Depending on where you live, there’s a good chance that the water flowing through your pipes is packed with minerals, which is known as hard water. Such water can have a number of detrimental effects on your health, skin and other areas of your life as well. Besides seeking out water treatment services, you should also know the full scope of the harmful impact mineral-laced water can have on your life.

Your Physical Health

The mineral content of hard water can prove detrimental to your organs if you ingest it. Those who have high blood pressure or heart disease despite dieting and exercising might be able to link their health to drinking and cooking with hard water. There’s also the potential for hard water to lead to reproductive failure, as well as certain types of cancer. None of this is mentioned to scare you, just to give you a firm understanding of just how much harm hard water can do to your body.

Photo: Tiffany Eastman Interiors, LLC

Your Skin & Hair

Your skin most certainly won’t look its best if you’re showering or bathing with hard water. Your skin can become dry and flaky from washing and rinsing with hard water, and it can even flare up any skin conditions you might already have, such as eczema. You might also be under the impression that the skin products you use aren’t effective if you have hard water. This is because those products don’t rinse off as well as they should under hard water. Under such circumstances, you’ll want to invest in a water softener to take the best care of your skin.

As for your hair, washing and rinsing with hard water can leave your hair feeling weak and dry, no matter if you use the best shampoos and conditioners. What’s more is your scalp can become dry and itchy. Do you dye your hair? If so, hard water can drain your hair of its color.

Photo: Pickell Architecture

Your Appliances

Another effect of hard water is harming appliances such as your washer, dishwasher and hot water heater. It’s the sediment that wears away at your appliances, causing them to break down faster than necessary. Also, your plumbing fixtures and pipes can also be harmed by the presence of hard water, and you might have more clogs in your pipes because of the sediment in the water running through those pipes. If you’re in the market for new appliances, do yourself a favor and check to see if you have hot water; otherwise, that new appliance might not last nearly as long as it should.

Photo: RLH Studio

Your Home’s Energy Efficiency

Those increased energy bills you’ve been getting might be linked to hard water. Over time, the minerals in hard water can start to collect in your hot water heater, breaking down its overall efficiency. That inefficiency can lead to your water heater working harder than it needs to, which results in higher energy bills.

If you don’t know whether you have hard water, have it tested by a professional. Having your water treated could do wonders for multiple areas of your life.