When you think about types of water, what pops into your head? We’re guessing fresh or salt, filtered or tap, and cold or hot. But there’s a comparison that you should also consider — hard or soft.
Countless homeowners have hard water running through their plumbing systems, and they don’t even know it. However, since it can have some negative effects on your home and health, you should know how to tell if you have hard water.
What Is Hard Water?
Hard water is water with a lot of minerals in it. Now before you get excited, since minerals generally are a good thing, we’re not talking just about vitamins and minerals. Hard water can have iron and magnesium in it, but it can also have bacteria and soil sediments — all of which can harm your plumbing and body.
Signs You Have Hard Water
You Notice Weird Stains
The iron in hard water can cause rust-colored stains to appear in your toilet bowls, sinks, and other fixtures. The reason these stains look like rust is typically because the sediments causing the stains are from the insides of rusty pipes.
Your Shower Time Suffers
Hard water doesn’t fully wash away soap, so showers that should leave you feeling refreshed and clean can have you feeling as if you have a layer of soap scum on you. Hard water sediments can also build up on your showerhead and decrease the amount of water pressure you get from it.
Your Hair and Skin are Dry
If you’re not able to completely rinse soap and shampoo from your body during your shower, the leftover residue will cling to your skin and dry it out. It will also cause your hair to look dry, dull, and potentially discolored.
Your Pipes are Always Clogged
While clogged pipes can have a number of causes, continuously clogged pipes can be the result of hard water. The sediments in hard water can build up inside your pipes over time and end up blocking them entirely.
You Can’t Escape Soap Scum
When hard water mixes with soap and dries, it can leave unsightly white calcium spots on your plumbing fixtures. While it’s not too hard to clean soap scum, we doubt you want to have to do it every time you shower.
Hard Water is No Match for HARP
When you’re in need of plumbing help, trust the experts at HARP Home Services LLC. We’ll always be there to help you day or night, 24/7, 365 days a year.
For more information or to schedule a service, give us a call at 860-341-1499.