Hard water may be damaging your water-using appliances in ways that you don’t even realize. Here are a few ways hard water effects your water heater, dishwasher, refrigerator, and maybe even your favorite china.

Appliance damage
Hard water causes scale to build up in your appliances. Scale buildup can cause appliances to work less efficiently and can even reduce their life by 30 – 50 percent. And when scale builds up in your water heater, you could be spending an additional 29% on your water heating energy bill.

Crusty, hard-to-clean, scale buildup and stains
Hard water causes white, crusty scale to build up on faucets and showerheads, which decreases water flow over time.

Clogged pipes
Plumbing hard water throughout the home leads to scale buildup, lower water pressure, and clogged pipes. And if left untreated, those clogs could eventually lead to blocked pipes, or even worse – a burst pipe.

The last thing you need on Christmas is an appliance to break down, scale buildup around your faucets, or low water pressure. By installing a water softener you can save your expensive appliances and eliminate the problems from hard water and scale listed above. Making the choice to install a water softener may save your holiday dinner. You can see how hard the water is where you live by looking at the map on our website.

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Bathtubs, faucets and showers are magnets for mildew, soap scum, grime, scale, and stubborn stains. Hard water minerals such as calcium and magnesium can react negatively with ingredients in your bathroom hardware, so if you are living with hard water, you are probably being haunted by stubborn soap scum or scale in your bath tub and shower.

While there are great temporary fixes for this buildup, including vinegar, chemicals, and fabric softener sheets, you’ll spend less time and money on harsh chemicals and scrubbing scale away by solving the core problem with a more environmentally friendly water softener.

A water softener provides a permanent solution to hard water scale. Installing a water softener system in your home’s basement or garage removes hard water minerals from your water before it flows to your pipes and fixtures, reducing scale buildup. You can purchase a water softener at any big box store and install it yourself with a little plumbing know-how.

First, make sure you have hard water and aren’t just a victim of poor cleaning habits. Order your free test strip here and get the results instantly.

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Unfortunately, if you have hard water, you can expect to lose 30 percent to 50 percent of an appliance’s projected lifespan. Rust and buildup form due to the high amounts of iron, calcium and magnesium found in hard water areas. The constant contact of these materials may cause severe damage, and the longer the iron and other minerals build up the worse the damage to appliances, sinks, and tubs.

Commercial products with strong chemicals provide a powerful solution for eliminating scale buildup and rust stains left behind by iron in hard water, but this is only a temporary solution to the problem.

The Hard Water and Rust Stain Solution
You may be able to find short-term fixes including lemon juice, vinegar, and commercial products, but you will not be solving the actual problem at hand. A water softener is the core solution to eliminating iron minerals that form rust stains in your home. The water softening process is able to absorb hard minerals from the water as well as clear water iron by using tiny resin beads, which act as a sponge. Installing a water softener is your only solution to eliminating rust stains from iron permanently.

You can find out if you live in a zone with hard water by referencing the map on our website. You may also fill out a form on our website to receive a free water test in the mail.

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Getting the Gray Out

For temporary help, choose a special additive for your laundry. They bind to the hardness minerals, softening the water. This is a quick solution, but unfortunately, a non-lasting one as those additives drain away. When your laundry is rinsed in hard water, some of the additives’ benefits are negated.

A water softener provides a permanent solution. It removes the hard water minerals from your water and laundry. You can purchase a water softener at any big box store and install it yourself with a little plumbing know-how.

Easy Water Test

To start, be sure you actually have hard water. Request a free test strip then use our easy step-by-step tool that helps you figure out the best system for your home.

And water softeners help you save money too by making your appliances more efficient and saving on cleaning supplies. You then have a few more dollars to buy more little black dresses for your closet.

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The minerals found in hard water (calcium, magnesium and iron) can distress hair, making expensive products less effective and hair more difficult to manage. This results in less lathering, ineffective cleansing and the inability of conditioners to penetrate the hair follicles.

If you find you are using an extra pump of shampoo and conditioner just to get a little more foam or get that deep condition, you may be washing more than just hair products down the drain.

Price of Hard Water

When the cost of shampoo, conditioner and styling products isn’t feeling worth it because your hair is still dry, limp, dull or unmanageable, you may want to think about investing in a water softener.
By using a water softener, a household can save an average of $450 over the course of a year on shampoo, detergent, soap, and other cleaning supplies.

Broken down, that’s an estimated 50 percent savings on costly products and salon visits.

Average Cost Savings Per Year on Products:

Shampoo – $75
Conditioner – $75
Styling Products – $150
Salon Visits – $125+

Your Wallet Will Thank You

That water softener is a permanent fix that will keep your hair looking vibrant and healthy, with no build-up, while saving you money. It removes those hard minerals before water even gets to your showerhead so you never have to experience dull, limp hair again.
It’s easy to be on your way to softer, healthier hair. Once you’ve tested your water and know your hard water number, you’ll be ready to find the best Whirlpool water softening solution for your needs.

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Cleaning for the holidays can really be a chore. Between shopping and cooking, you don’t have time to spend countless hours scrubbing to get your home presentable for guests. The key to easier cleaning with fewer chemicals this holiday season? A water softener.

Installing a water softener removes hard water minerals from your water before it flows to your pipes and fixtures, reducing scale buildup and cleaning stress prior to friends and family visiting. Here are some areas of your home that can benefit from soft water:

Spotty Dishes

Do you pull spotty, filmy glasses, pots and pans from the dishwasher or drying rack? Although the dishes are clean, the spots can be embarrassing, especially if guests think they are being served with dirty dishes. Soft water keeps dishes and glassware sparkling, because hard water minerals are removed before water flows through the faucet and dishwasher. Your detergents can work more efficiently, and you’ll need less soap to get the job done.

Filmy Showers and Faucets

One of the most frustrating places to clean in the home is the bathroom. Not only do you have to scrub the white scale buildup from faucets, but you also have to deal with the dreaded spots on shower walls and doors and staining in the toilet bowl. While there are great temporary fixes for this buildup, including vinegar, chemicals, and fabric softener sheets, you’ll spend less time and money on chemicals by solving the core problem with a water softener.

Stiff Laundry

If you have guests spending the night, you don’t want to offer them scratchy sheets, blankets and towels. The stiffness of these fabrics is likely a result of your water, not the laundry detergent you use. If you have hard water, minerals deposit themselves onto your fabrics, making it difficult for your detergent to activate and do its job. Having to use more detergent than needed quickly becomes costly and wasteful.

If you are frustrated with the effort and money it takes to address the effects of hard water in your home, try installing a water softener to prevent hard water problems. You can easily find the best solution for your home before the holidays with our shopping checklist. Spend that time with family and friends instead of cleaning!

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Spotty Stemware

Holiday dinner tables gleam when you set out your best stemware—as long as they’re spot-free. To remove hard water deposits, soak your glasses in two cups of warm vinegar (preferably white vinegar) for approximately three minutes. Give them a quick rinse and dry with a lint-free towel to eliminate the potential for the spots and streaks to return.

Clogged Showerhead

Frustrated that instead of a steady, powerful spray, your guests will shower under a slow drip? One of the best defenses in your war on mineral deposits may be sitting in your kitchen cupboard. Pour white vinegar into a small, plastic bag or a shower cap. Pull the bag over the showerhead, secure with a rubber band and leave on overnight. Your showerhead will be clean and look like new—with no scrubbing needed.

Rust Stains

Want to tackle rust before it becomes a major problem? The chemicals in commercial products provide a powerful solution for eliminating scale buildup and rust stains left behind by hard water. Although this solution may be more expensive and contain harsh chemicals, commercial products offer a ready-made, powerful solution for temporarily removing rust stains.

Faucets

If you want to maintain a sparkling, spot-free faucet, squeegee or wipe down the surface after you’re done using it with a squeeze of lemon. Like vinegar, the acidity of lemon juice dissolves the hard water minerals deposited on water fixtures. Let the lemon juice sit for 10 minutes, then simply rinse and wipe dry.

Bathtubs

There’s nothing worse than stubborn spots in your tub. A homemade remedy can temporarily cut through the minerals left behind by hard water. Create this easy remedy by mixing a 50-50 solution of distilled water and vinegar to spot-treat scale. After you apply the solution with a spray bottle, let it sit a couple minutes before wiping clean. To create an even more powerful scrub, combine vinegar with baking soda and smear it on the spots. Let it sit for 15 minutes, add a little elbow grease if necessary and rinse with water.

Shower Doors

If it’s spot-free shower doors you long for, try rubbing a dryer sheet over the water spots. This solution won’t reverse years of spots, but it may be the perfect fix to reverse a few days of buildup. Since you can use a new or used dryer sheet, get into the habit of wiping down your shower door before you throw the dryer sheet in the trash.

The Permanent Fix

The above tips provide temporary solutions to hard water spots, but won’t fix your hard water problems for good. If you are frustrated with the regular maintenance associated with hard water spots, try installing a water softener before your first guests arrive this holiday season. Installing a water softener is a permanent solution because it filters out the hard water minerals before water flows through faucets and showerheads. The only maintenance required is to replenish the salt supply and conduct regular maintenance checks.

Your holiday to-do list can be overwhelming, but following these tips will keep your home sparkling this season, giving you one less thing to stress about.

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Have you recently purchased a new white dress shirt only to have it look less than pristine after a handful of washes? Or what about your freshly laundered towels? Are they scratchier and harder than they should be straight out of the dryer? If you’ve noticed stiff, harsh fabrics, graying or yellowing of clothing, soil build-up and/or weakening of fabrics, hard water is most likely the culprit.

How hard water hinders the wash cycle

The minerals found in hard water (calcium and magnesium) deposit themselves onto fabrics, which cause discoloration and stiffness. Think of it this way: hard water is like rocks hitting your clothes and damaging them. Laundry detergent does not activate and perform well when used with hard water, which minimizes its effectiveness unless you add more soap to the wash cycle. This quickly becomes costly and wasteful.

Quick fixes

A chemical additive for the wash cycle is available. It breaks down the hardness minerals, allowing the soap to work more effectively and thoroughly to clean the clothes. However, once the water is drained from the machine, hard water comes back during the rinse cycle, undoing much of the initial work of the conditioner. This is less effective and not a permanent fix for your hard water woes.

The softening solution

By installing a water softener, the hardness minerals are removed before water is distributed throughout the house for daily use. Soft water will allow you to use less laundry detergent while getting cleaner, brighter and softer results. Your fabrics will last longer and look better, and you won’t have to go clothes shopping because you have to—only because you want to. Unsure what kind of water softener is right for your home? Answer a few quick questions about your home’s water use and get a personalized recommendation.

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From your pipes and appliances to your hair and skin, hard water touches just about everything in your home. Because water is involved in most of your daily routines, the effects of hard water are felt everywhere—your wallet included. In the short term the costs seem negligible, but over the course of a year they add up. Multiply that over a water softener’s lifespan, and you’re well beyond pocket change.

Hard water affects your wallet in four main areas. By using a water softener, a household can estimate these approximate savings over the course of a year:

1. Cleaning and personal care (50% reduction in purchases of soap, lotion, detergent, etc.): $450 saved with soft water
2. Gas and electric use (heat loss due to scale): $60 saved with soft water
3. Washable items (clothes, towels, linens): $200 saved with soft water
4. Plumbing and appliances (repair and replacement): $90 saved with soft water

Total potential savings per year: $800¹

In 365 days, the little things do add up quickly. But hard water also has a big impact on your major water-using appliances. If you have hard water, you can expect to lose 30% to 50% of an appliance’s projected lifespan. Below is a look at the most common appliances and how they’re impacted by hard water.

According to a study completed by the Water Quality Association, by using soft water in your home, you won’t have to replace major appliances as often or pay for costly maintenance visits nearly as regularly.

But I already have a water softener

Like other appliances, water softeners don’t last forever. Age and daily wear and tear take a toll, lessening the softener’s efficiency and contributing to higher household costs over time. If you’re curious about whether you’re due for an upgrade, you can review some common indicators. Otherwise, here are some simple steps to keep your water softener working longer and more efficiently.

¹ Based on data from the Water Quality Association and a comparison of softeners manufactured since 2001.

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These are some of the most common problems you may be experiencing around your home due to hard water:

• Around the home
  • Crusty, white scale buildup on faucets, shower heads and water-using appliances
  • Dishwasher that no longer cleans dishes very well
  • Reduced water flow due to clogged pipes
  • Hard-to-clean film and scale on bath and kitchen fixtures, shower walls and toilets
  • Spotty, filmy glasses and dishes—even after washing
  • Soap that refuses to lather despite using copious amounts
  • Gray, dingy clothing
  • Towels that feel hard and scratchy post-wash
• Financial hits over time
  • Higher utility bill costs over time
    • Hard water will require up to 29% more energy to heat your water over the life of a water heater
    • The estimated increase in energy bills over a 10-year period: $1,500
  • Decreased efficacy of major water-using appliances, including big ticket items like water heaters, dishwashers and washing machines
  • A 30% to 50% decrease in the lifespan of major appliances
  • Increased purchases of items such as laundry detergent, bath and kitchen soaps and lotion
    • Estimated annual cost without a softener: $1,039
    • Estimated annual cost with a softener: $225 (75% to 80% percent savings)
• Personal well-being
  • “Squeaky” skin post-wash
  • Excessively dry skin
  • Dull, limp hair
  • Razor burn
  • Hair color that quickly fades

If any of these signs are present in your home, the best way to know for sure if you’ve got hard water is through a hard water test. It’s quick and easy, and it will tell you how hard your water is. Armed with that info, you’ll be able to look into the best solutions for your home.

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