Why Hard Water Is A Huge PROBLEM and What To Do About It?

Is It Safe To Drink Hard Water?

Is hard water safe to drink? Technically, yes.

Consuming small amounts of magnesium and calcium should not cause you any harm. Especially if the rest of the water is clean and free of any harmful contaminants.

The real issue of “hardness” is the effect and nuisance it causes for your home appliances and plumbing.

This is through things like mineral buildup and the potential for clogging or blocking up pipes.

Disadvantages

The biggest issue with hardness is by far the limescale buildup in your pipes and home appliances.

You may find that you use more soap because it takes longer to lather, which can be both time consuming and expensive in the long term.

The limescale it leaves can make your appliances and machines work less efficiently.

Advantages

It contains dissolved calcium, it may (at least in theory) be a source of calcium. However, the available calcium in “hard” water is probably not enough to compete with calcium rich foods like leafy vegetables.

Acquired taste. Yes this might sound weird but some people actually like the taste of hard water.

Minimal health risks, unlike soft water. Especially water that has been softened with salt).

There are also unconfirmed reports of fewer heart attacks in locations with lots of hardness. It is not clear whether this is as a result of casualty or is simply correlation.

What Is Hard Water?

It is water that has high levels of dissolved mineral deposits like magnesium and calcium.

The most visible effect of this is white stains (also known as limescale) around your sink, faucet, bathtub and kitchen appliances like your kettle.

How Is Hard Water Formed?

It’s formed when magnesium and calcium ions are dissolved in high quantities.

If the hardness is temporary then this will be due to dissolved calcium hydrogencarbonate and this can easily be removed by boiling it.

However, permanent hardness is due to dissolved calcium sulfate that you can’t simply remove by boiling.

Why Is Hard Water Such A Big Problem?

Hard water is what causes the white limescale stains around your sink, faucet, kettle and bathtub. Do you know that around 90% of the US suffer from it according to The U.S. Geological Survey?

The situation is almost as bad in other parts of the world like Europe.

For instance, around 13 million homes in the UK suffer from heavy limescale because of hardness.

All of this is because of the type of water that is supplied to the home. And a lot of this is down to the water available in your geological location.

For instance, living near certain types of rock will determine the kind of water you get.

“Hardness” is not necessarily how water appears in its natural form. For instance, do you know that rainwater is soft in its natural form?

You only get hardness when the water comes into contact with other elements like the ground, chalk, limestone and rock – that its state can change.

Temporary Hard Water?

If your water only contains calcium hydrogencarbonate (instead of calcium sulfate) then it is considered to be “temporary hard”.

“Temporary” because you can easily remove calcium hydrogencarbonate by boiling it unlike other forms of hardness.

Examples Of Hard Water

High levels of “hardness” means that it is high in both calcium and magnesium.

Rain is naturally soft but becomes “hard” when it comes into contact with things like rock, chalk and limestone.

Here are some examples of hard water:

• Water that does not easily lather when you use soap.
• Water that leaves limescale residue in your kettle and pipes (this can cause blockages over time).
• Another example is the type of water that contains ferrous irons. This can result in some reddish brown stains on your clothes after laundry.

Hard Water Areas UK

Unfortunately, the UK is heavily affected with hardness due to its geographic location. About 13 million homes in the UK live in areas with hardness.
You can check areas suffering from hardness on the UK map and see if your neighbourhood is one of the affected areas.

Another way to check hardness is to get a good quality water hardness testing kit.

It is possible to get a cheap kit but they might not work as well to get you an accurate reading.

Also, remember that you measure hardness by looking at the number of mineral deposits by ppm (parts per million).

Hardness in water is anything more than 180ppm, while anything less than 60ppm can be considered to be soft water.

What Is Soft Water?

This is literally the opposite of hard water in that it doesn’t contain high levels of calcium and magnesium.

In some ways, soft water is actually more natural in the sense that things like rain is naturally soft. Despite this, you shouldn’t drink it if it has been softened with sodium salt. Read why this is the case here.

How To Get Rid of Hard Water?

While the water from your tap in a western country is usually safe to drink, the hardness can wreck havoc on your pipes, plumbing and appliances.

So here is how to get rid of it: soften your water.

The easiest way to do this is to use a water softener machine.

One of the best softener machines is the Aquasana Whole House Rhino. I like this machine because it not only softens but it filters too.

It softens without using salt or sodium. This is ideal for people who want to consume less sodium in their diet.

If you have very high levels of hard water then consider a salt based softener like this combination machine.

Treats hard water UP TO 25 ppm (low to medium low hard water).	Treats hard water OVER 25 ppm (medium to extremely hard water).
Does NOT require electricity.	Requires electricity if using the electronic head monitor.
Control Your System With An App:? NO	Control Your System With An App:? YES
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