We can bet you have seen this white formation on the water taps and showerheads installed in your home. And these are the only visible signs that make you ask yourself,

“Oh God. There’s a lot of cleaning to do.”

BUT WAIT….

It’s more than just cleaning.

It’s something that groundwater gets while travelling through nature. Today we’ll reveal what’s actually the reason behind it. But before that let us remind you of our happiest memories.

Well, the earliest memory of our childhood reminds us how our mothers and grandmas used “Alum” or “Fitkari” (as it’s known all over India) to clean water from impurities. That’s a popular remedy that helped, but there’s more to the water that we use today.

IT’S HARD WATER

What is Hard Water?

The water on our earth moves through soil and rocks. And while travelling, the water gets dissolved with very small amounts of minerals. This water holds them all as a solution.

Well, the two most common minerals that dissolve in water are CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM.

And these minerals make water “hard”. Thus the term, “Hard Water”.

N.B. The hardness in water goes up as the calcium and magnesium content amplifies. And there are other trace minerals too that get dissolved in water—iron, manganese, zinc, and aluminium.

But again your mind pops up with a question:

IS HARD WATER SAFE TO USE?

The truth is,

Hard water is safe to drink for now, but in the long term, it will lead to problems that will prove to be costly and inconvenient.

Some of the very common impacts of hard water are:

• Restricts the flow of water: The magnesium and calcium carbonates dissolved in water get deposited as off-white chalky solids (also called as scales) on the inside parts of water heaters and piping systems. This scale grows hard with time and restricts the flow of water by pipes.

In simple words, hard water deposits clog plumbing and sanitary installations, which ultimately require pipe replacement and extra expenditure.

• Water Spots on Dishes: It’s pretty common to notice white residue on our dishes even after good washing. This is due to the hard water deposits that appear upon drying of the crockery items. Those rough white spots make a bad impression when serving recently washed plates and bowls to our guests. The same goes with hotels, restaurants, and cafes too.

You may remove them by using a cleaning cloth. But, even after these preventions, these ugly stains will cause wear on cookware, cutlery, and all other crockery equipment washed using hard water.

• Skin Irritation: Every morning we look forward to the first shower that will refresh us for a new day. But who knows that the water that greets our hair may cause skin irritation and other problems like eczema (found mostly in children).

Well, your skin may have resisted it. But everyone’s skin has a different sensitivity toward water. And when it’s hard water, we suggest you install an easy-to-use water filter that’s specially made for showers and taps.

Did you know? Hard water creates a film on glass doors of shower spaces and also on shower walls and bathtubs.

• Sticky & Dull Hair: It’s really good to get our water checked for its hardness. But why? Because while bathing, we use soap that pairs up with hard water. This hard water leaves a film of sticky soap curd on your skin, and this soap curd makes your hair dull, weak, and tough to manage.

In some cases, hard water has also been found responsible for hair loss. Even the soap doesn’t lather or rinse completely, giving way to flat hair. But there’s more that you have observed in daily life. Seen some people’s hair turning brownish with time? Well, it’s not magic. It’s because of hard water that these people have been using for a very long time, and this hard water has stolen their natural hair color from them.

You can prevent this from happening by making smart moves. When it’s hard water, we suggest you install an easy-to-use premium water filter that’s specially made for showers and taps and has been ordered over 10,000 times online.

• Stains on Bathtub & Sinks: A pure white bathtub and shiny sink. You, me, and everyone want that forever. But hard water has its own plans to leave a mark on our lovely bathware.

Every time we use a bathtub, it receives plenty of water. And day in and day out, we use it in the same way—by filling it first, bathing, and then draining out the water. And suddenly, one day, you notice stains on your bathtub surface and also on your sinks. Boom, comes a shocker.

Well, it’s all due to the invisible hard water deposits left on these surfaces. This calls for cleaning and rubbing these bathware with a hard cloth/brush. So much of time and effort lost in cleaning.

What’s the solution? It’s simple. Use a filter that helps you get soft water flowing from the taps, hand showers, and bathroom faucets. It will help keep your bathtubs and sinks looking like shiny new purchases.

• Sore Throats: As we discussed in the beginning, hard water contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and aluminium, etc. And here you may have a valid question:

“Aren’t all these minerals good for our body?”

Yes, but only in limited content. As the taste of hard water is quite different from soft water, so are its impacts upon people’s dietary needs. To your surprise, some people even get sore throats from regular consumption of water that’s high in mineral content.

In some cases, even reports of kidney problems have been observed because of the patient drinking hard water for a very long time.

• Clothes Feel Rough: Hard water has a direct impact on your shirts, pants, jeans, etc. Clothes and linen washed with hard water feel rough and leave a dull image. Even when laundered in hard water, the clothes may look dingy and feel scratchy. In some cases, even bad odors have been reported.

It’s very important to note that all these impacts on clothes happen in the long term. In the short term, they’ll miss your eye. But on the other side, even the water appliances have to use more energy with hard water, thereby leading to increased water bills.

• Swimming Pools: The easiest way to know about hard water in a swimming pool is by looking for a cloudy (milky) appearance of the water. This is also known as turbidity. Turbidity forms because of insoluble carbonates present in the water. It’s because of the pH being excessively high, i.e., pH > 7.6.

That’s why chlorine is used in recommended amounts to treat this hard water. And hard water is also the reason why some people get skin irritation even after having a great time in the pool.

• Overheating in Boilers: Even inside the boiler, hard water deposits impair the flow of heat towards the water. This takes down the heating efficiency and leads to overheating of boiler components. This overheating results in the failure of the boiler and heat exchangers too.

In all, it becomes a huge cost expenditure that wastes a lot of time, effort, and money.

WHAT NEXT?

Well, congratulations! Now you have scored absolutely all the strong points to defeat the motives of hard water. And here we are sharing our contact for you: care@purifit.in. Feel free to connect with us anytime.

Purifit stands strong to help you drink clean water. We want you to perform the best, everywhere you go.

More power to you.

Note: The views expressed are all collated from rich sources available to the public over the internet. Any application suggested is upon the reader’s sole discretion. Purifit is not responsible for any kind of tests performed that may have given or may give results that prove to be opposite of the content suggested here for knowledge purposes.