How to Tell If You Have Hard Water: 10 Telltale Signs
The signs aren’t hard to see
Highlights
Fading and stiff laundry, irritated skin, dry or damaged hair, constant appliance problems, scale deposits, and low water pressure could all indicate a hard water problem.
A combination of baking soda and vinegar can help clean stubborn hard water stains.
Your best bet for eliminating hard water is to install a water softener, which costs between $200 and $6,000.
Calcium, magnesium, limestone, and other mineral deposits found in hard water are like plaque buildup blocking blood flow in your arteries. Hard water can also put a damper on the things you love, like your designer skinny jeans, colorful fabrics, and favorite glassware—not to mention your skin, hair, and appliances. Luckily, it’s not hard to tell if you have hard water when you know where to look. Here are 10 things to watch out for when you’re on the hunt for hard water.
10 Signs You Have Hard Water
If you live in the U.S., you likely have hard water running through your pipes unless you have a water softener installed. Here’s how you can tell if you have hard water in your home.
1. High Utility Bills
A warning sign you have hard water is skyrocketing energy bills. Hard water can clog pipes and lower the efficiency of your water heater. When hard water gets heated, magnesium and calcium carbonate scale deposits cause the tank to have to work harder to heat water, using more energy and increasing your utility bill.
2. White Spots on Your Coffee Maker
Your morning cup of joe is essential to a productive day. But if you have calcium buildup (you’ll notice the white spots), it can make your coffee take longer to brew or prevent it from brewing at all.
A quick fix is to run vinegar through your coffee maker. The acidity of the vinegar helps dissolve the mineral particles. Just make sure you run plain water through the system afterward to flush all the vinegar out (unless you just really enjoy vinegar-flavored coffee in the morning).
3. Fabrics Fade in the Wash
Color fading might look good on an old, soft pair of jeans, but it can wreak havoc on colorful bedding or dresses. The blame: calcium and magnesium in your water. Leftover mineral deposits can quickly build up on your clothes and linens and make them appear dull.
4. Laundry Detergent Won’t Remove Stains
The minerals in hard water prevent detergents from lathering and removing soil and stains. They can even puncture holes in fabrics. Not the look you want on your body and in your home.
5. Itchy, Dry, or Irritated Skin
Have a teen with acne? A spouse with eczema or rosacea? Minerals in hard water can exacerbate skin conditions. Bathing and washing your face and body in hard water can clog pores, make you itch, and irritate your skin. The calcium and magnesium in hard water can also burn your eyes when they make contact, leaving a slime coating on your hands after you wash them.
6. Frequent Bad Hair Days
Hard water can also wreak havoc on your hair. The mineral-heavy water makes it difficult to rinse shampoo and conditioner out of your hair, leaving it feeling limp and looking dull.
7. Scale Deposits, Film, and Soap Scum Residue
A sure sign you have hard water is white scale deposits, film, and soap scum residue found where water evaporates and dries.
They appear as:
Scale deposits on your kitchen and bathroom faucet fixtures
White spots on silverware
Film coating your glassware
Soap scum residue on your bathroom tiles and around your tub
8. Household Appliances Don’t Run Properly
Hard water can take a toll on household appliances, including your dishwasher, water heater, washing machine, and boiler (which costs thousands of dollars to replace).
The sediment that accumulates from hard water mineral deposits not only decreases water flow and clogs valves, but the pH level in the water can cause erosion. This can shorten the life of your appliances 30 times faster than appliances that run on soft water.
9. Frequent Clogs
Minerals in hard water can build up on the interior of your bathroom appliances, fixtures, and pipes. This can create clogs and put stress on your plumbing system. In addition, hard minerals can shorten the life span of your appliances since they cause appliances to work harder to do their job. If you have very hard water, you might find yourself calling a plumber more often than not.
10. Low Water Pressure
As if clogs aren’t a big enough problem on their own, you’ve also got to worry about mineral buildup in pipes. When it coats the inside of the plumbing, expect reduced water pressure in showerheads and faucets throughout your home.
How to Test Water Hardness
There are a few ways to test water hardness in your home.
Soap Test
The soap test is a low-budget, no-frills way to test your water.
Fill a sealable container, like a jar or bottle, halfway with water from the faucet.
Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to the water.
Seal the container tightly and shake it vigorously.
Wait 20 seconds and analyze the result.
If you notice a lot of suds with clear water below the suds, your water is on the softer side. A thin layer of suds and cloudy water beneath indicates hard water.
At-Home Test Kit
Water testing kits are available online and at your local hardware store. Some kits test for contaminants, so make sure that you’re buying one intended to test for water hardness.
Dip the stick (provided by the kit) in a glass of water.
Match the color that the stick turns to the guide the kit gave you to gauge the hardness of your water.
Instructions may vary by kit, so always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Check With the City
Some municipalities post water test results on public websites for local residents. If you can’t find recent water hardness test results for your area online, call your local utility provider for more information.
How to Clean Items Affected by Hard Water
There are several materials—which you likely already have in your home—that can help remove hard water stains from just about any surface.
Baking Soda
Baking soda dissolves calcium deposits and works best as a paste applied to stains.
Mix equal parts water and baking soda.
Apply the mixture to the stain.
Scrub the stain lightly with a sponge or soft-bristle brush.
Allow it to sit for a few minutes, then wipe the spot clean.
You can also use this method with a mixture of vinegar and baking soda instead of water.
Vinegar
Vinegar is a cleaning powerhouse and handles hard water stains with ease.
Place a small bit of vinegar on the surface and wait a few minutes to spot test it to make sure it can handle the vinegar.
Pour a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water into a spray bottle.
Spritz any hard water stains.
Let the vinegar sit for a few minutes.
Rinse thoroughly and dry with a microfiber cloth.
Note: Vinegar should not be used on soft stone materials, such as marble, granite, or soapstone.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide offers a one-two punch. It can remove hard water stains and soap scum.
Apply 3% (store-bought) hydrogen peroxide to any spot or stain you’d like to clean.
Let it sit for 20 minutes.
Scrub it away with a soft-bristled brush.
Rinse thoroughly and dry completely with a microfiber cloth.
How to Fix Hard Water in Your Home
While hard water doesn’t present any known health risks if you drink it, it can be hard on your skin, hair, fabrics, appliances—and your budget.
While temporary fixes exist, the best way to banish hard water for good is by having a local water softener company put a water softener in your home. The cost for a water softener system averages around $1,500. It’s a decent amount of cash up front, but soft water will keep your utility bills down and prolong the life of your appliances and pipes.
By installing a water softener, you can put moisture back in your hair and skin, sparkle back in your dishware, color back in your wardrobe and fabrics, and money back in your wallet.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your ‘do isn’t doing what you want it to do despite using good hair care products, hard water might be to blame. Since hard water can’t rinse soap off as well as soft water can, your hair might grow limp because of the shampoo and conditioner residue that’s left behind. If you color your hair, you might see it fade more quickly or even turn a different shade as the dye reacts with the minerals in the water. You might also experience an itchy scalp, thanks to the dryness that comes from bathing in the hard water.
Hard water doesn’t hurt, but it might feel more abrasive, especially if you have sensitive skin. It’s also about how your skin feels after bathing. You might feel as though you have a sticky film over your body because you do—it’s all that soapy residue left behind because the hard water can’t rinse it off completely.
Just as hard water can wreak havoc on your skin by drying it out, it’s also not great for your hair. That’s because hard water won’t rinse out shampoo and conditioner as effectively as soft water can. All that product buildup isn’t good news for your hair, which can look dull and limp over time with hard water.