Clothes washed in hard water often look dingy and feel harsh and scratchy. Soil on clothes can introduce even more hardness minerals into the wash water. Continuous laundering in hard water can damage fibers and shorten the life of clothes by up to 40 percent.
EFFECTS OF HARDWATER
Laundering
Bathing
Bathing with soap in hard water leaves a film of sticky soap curd on the skin. The film may prevent removal of soil and bacteria. Soap curd interferes with the return of skin to its normal, slightly acid condition, and may lead to irritation. It may also make hair dull, lifeless and difficult to manage.
Dishwashers
When washing dishes, especially in a dishwasher, hard water may cause spotting and filming. The minerals from hard water are released faster when it comes into contact with heat, increasing the amount of spotting and filming that occurs. This problem is not a health risk, but it can be a nuisance to clean and reduce the quality of your crockery.
Water Boiler Systems and Pipework
Hard water also contributes to inefficient and costly operation of water-using appliances. Heated hard water forms a scale of calcium and magnesium minerals (limescale deposits) that can contribute to the inefficient operation or failure of water-using appliances. Pipes can become clogged with scale that reduces water flow and ultimately requires pipe replacement. Limescale has been known to increase energy bills by up to 25%
Limescale in Solar Heating Systems
Solar heating, often used for heating swimming pools is prone to limescale buildup, which can reduce the efficiency of the electronic pump and therefore the overall systems performance will deteriorate. A low cost solution to this problem is to install a magnetic water conditioner before the pump, this will prevent limescale buildup and, over time, it will remove existing limescale.