Have you ever noticed the texture of your home’s water? Or have you noticed how your hair or skin felt after showering? That’s because there is a difference in your hair or skin based on the water in your home. Fun fact, most of the United States has hard water, defined as over 7 grains of minerals per gallon, including cities in the greater Kansas City metro area! There are many differences between hard water and soft water, including one that is better for your home’s appliances.
Let’s start with what is near and dear to almost everyone-our hair!
Showering with hard water adds body to thinning hair. The mineral-rich water will cause your hair to look much thicker than it really is. In fact, with really hard water, your hair might be standing straight up. Showering with soft water you seldom need to use a conditioner. Your hair will be silky smooth, and you won’t need much shampoo to achieve clean hair.
What about our skin? Bathing or showering with hard water tends to leave your skin dry and can contribute to razor burn. Some people say their skin feels cleaner with hard water. One thing is for sure, a lot of moisturizer and lotion will be needed to counter the dry skin hard water produces.
Bathing or showering with soft water leaves your skin feeling better and not as dry. Some people describe the feel of their skin as slimy, although they like it because their skin is not flaky. You will have healthy-looking skin with less moisturizer use.
What about our home’s plumbing systems?
There is nothing good about hard water when it comes to our plumbing systems. Hard water produces flow-restricting scale in our water pipes. Scale will build up in the bottom of tank-type water heaters as well. The scale insulates the water from the burners. The water heaters heater’s life will be shortened. When you hear a water heater making gurgling noises, that is water in the scale layer at the bottom of a tank being superheated. Mini explosions occur, causing the tank to grumble. This puts stress on the tank, and it eventually will leak.
Hard water also shortens the life of washing machines, refrigerators, dishwashers, and toilets.
Soft water seems to be the best way to go! But what about drinking salty water that is produced by a water softener? Soft water does have some sodium, but it is not a significant percentage, and you will not taste it. The exact amount of sodium will vary based on how much hardness is being removed by the softener. If you really want little or no sodium in your drinking water, then a reverse osmosis (RO) filter system can be added to remove the sodium.
So soft water wins in all areas. Why aren’t water softeners standard equipment in homes? There is no good reason! The most common feedback we receive from homeowners who recently installed a water softener is, “I wish we would have done this sooner.”
Our plumbing team would be happy to help you by checking the hardness of your water and survey your home for a professional water softener system. Call Anthony Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric today!