Most people have heard the terms ‘hard water’ or ‘soft water’ before. But, while most people know that hard water isn’t exactly desirable, they often have little-to-no idea why. The reason is because most people don’t really know what the major differences between hard and soft water are and without that knowledge you probably wouldn’t be very motivated to install a water softener. But, we promise, once you know the differences, you will probably want to install a water softener as soon as possible!
Differences Between Hard & Soft Water
Hard Water Has Minerals (Good for Drinking, Not So Good for Everything Else)
While minerals are not necessarily a bad thing – in fact many minerals are good for you, hard water has a lot of them and their deposits and buildup can cause problems. Limescale and other mineral buildup can cause blockages in your pipes, necessitate more frequent pipe cleaning, cause your shower faucet to clog, leave your skin feeling dry and more.
Soft Water Is Better for Hair, Skin & Clothes
Soft water is water that contains far fewer minerals – almost none – and that makes it better for your hair, skin and clothes. Sciencingelaborates on soft water features, “Soft water, on the other hand, has very little of these minerals in it–less than one GPG. Most surface water, such as that in lakes, rivers or collected rainwater, is soft. Water softeners can be used to remove the calcium and magnesium from hard water by using sodium…Soft water is better for your skin, because it contains no irritating minerals and doesn’t leave a film that dries skin. Soft water promotes sudsing and rinses cleaner than hard water. This removes soap better, which helps leave the skin softer. It helps washing machines and dishwashers to work more effectively, and with less detergent. Clothes are cleaner, brighter and softer, and mineral staining of surfaces is eliminated. You save money because of fewer cleaning supplies are needed and because of longer appliance life, energy savings and clothes life.”
Hard Water Tends to Taste Better Than Soft Water
Hard water tastes more like natural water and soft water tends to taste a little strange or salty. Because of this, many home benefit from having their soft water supply for some features of their home such as their dishwasher, clothes washer, and showers. While, they like to maintain their hard water kitchen faucet or refrigerator supply.