Hard Water's Impact on Pipes and Appliances

How to reduce the effects of hard water in your home?

The first step to getting rid of hard water is to determine how much it’s actually impacting your home. Do you have spots or film on your glassware? If so, it may be time to start thinking about getting a softener. However, if you’re noticing problems with your appliances — specifically older ones like those used in dishwashers, washing machines, and coffeemakers — it might be worth investing in a whole-house water filter. A water softener is a machine that adds sodium to water. This can help reduce hard water’s impact on appliances, fixtures, and fabrics. But, what if you don’t have a water softener? 

Here are some ways you can protect your home against hard water ’s negative effects: 

• Clean surfaces with vinegar – Vinegar is mild acid which will counterbalance minerals in hard water, like calcium, that cause surface buildup over time. Just add 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water in a spray bottle (or dish soap) and wipe away any hard-water buildup on dishes, shower doors or even sofas. No surface should be too big for vinegar! (It also makes clean-up a snap.) 

• Filters – These aren’t expensive or difficult to install but they may not be worth it depending on how much hard water runs through your house. Generally, you only need one filter near your faucet—if it’s hard at all—and another near your washing machine. The real cost savings of installing a whole-house filter depends on just how bad your hard water is.
• Laundry detergent – Scour out those suds every other load to get rid of soap residue in order to keep dirt and grime from being ground into fabric fibers before cleaning ever takes place. Once grime has been ground into fibers, there isn’t really anything that can soften them again except fabric softeners , which contain silicone oils that coat clothes and prevent dirt from being ground into fibers later by friction while they’re hanging on clothing racks or sitting in bins at laundromats.