Hard water does not pose a health problem in our lives but can hurt our home appliances and body. Keep reading to find out the effects of hard water on your home and body.
Effects of hard water
- Hard water cause builds on your plumbing fixtures and appliances
Hard water has calcium and magnesium which create scale build-up on the pipes and household appliances like heaters, boilers, washing machines, kettles, and dishwashers.
In the pipe, you will have less water pressure, and it will cause you to use a lot of water, therefore, leading to a high water bill. If time goes without repairing the pipe, the scale build-up may cause blockage causing the pipe to burst which can be costly to repair.
The heaters and boilers will decrease the heating efficiency of water leading to an increased electricity bill. Also, in-house appliances, it may reduce lifespan and cause expensive repair and maintenance.
- Effects of hard water on hair
Hard water leaves behind a residue on your hair. The residue rips natural oil from your hair making it look dull. In case your hair is color-treated using hard water causes it to fade away leading to repeated color treatment which can be expensive.
Also, the high mineral content present in the hard water causes breakage and thinning of the hair leading to hair loss.
Using hard water to clean your hair causes shampoo not to lather easily, leading to more use of detergent which is costly.
Also, hard water becomes hard to rinse off the shampoo and conditioner thoroughly. The remaining shampoo and conditioner cause your head skin to flake off leading to dandruff development.
When hair is washed with hard water, it becomes tangled making it hard to comb
- Makes soap not lather easily
Hard water reduces the lathering of soap and detergent causing you to use more soap
- Effects of hard water on dishes
Cleaning clothes and dishes using hard water create scale buildup leaving them with spots and stained dishes.
- Effects of hard water on clothes
Cleaning clothes using hard water creates scale build-up leaving your clothes with spots
It is not easy to rinse detergent on clothes using hard water leaving them on clothes.
Also since the detergents will not dissolve well in water, they will remain behind on clothes as a residue. The detergent causes your clothes to have dull colors, stains that won’t wash away, and weakening of fibers that cause holes and stiffness.
When the clothes with detergent come to contact with your body, it may cause rashes and especially on delicate baby skin.
- Effects of hard water on the skin
When hard water comes to contact with your skin some of the minerals are left behind. The minerals left behind absorb a lot of oil. The working oil your body produces helps lubricate your skin and hold the moisture so when the mineral absorbs the oil it leaves your skin dry.
When your skin peels, looks dull, and gets dry it makes you look older. That means you will look older than your age.
Also, the minerals that are left behind on your skin can clog your skin pores the same it does on the plumbing fixtures. The clogged pores can cause breakouts and deteriorate skin problems like eczema.
It becomes hard for hard water to rinse soap on the skin leaving your skin dry and then irritated and itchy.
In addition to soap hard water prevents the soap from lathering well making it less effective to clean your skin. This will force you to scrub the skin for longer leading to your skin drying out more and fewer problems.
Everybody produces oil which is distributed using the pores of your skin so when the pores are clogged the oil gets trapped inside the body which mostly led to pimples and acne forming.
Minerals present in hard water can form radicals that can easily damage skin cells leading wrinkles to form.
- Effects of hard water on teeth
The minerals in hard water are not likely to damage your teeth. As we all know calcium has a benefit on your teeth. It helps in keeping your teeth and bone strong
Installing a water softener or conditioner is the only way to solve hard water problems in your home and body
Frequently asked questions
Is hard water safe to drink?
Hard water is safe to drink. Hard water contains essential minerals such as calcium and magnesium that are beneficial to our health.
