If you’ve ever wondered if there are easy ways to recognise the
effects of hard water around your home, then I think this will
excite you…

That’s because I would like to share with you these fantastic tips
to identify the damaging and costly effects of hard water and
limescale around your home…

How to Recognise Hard Water

Probably the most recognisable symptoms of hard water are soap scum
in the bath tub and shower, and hard water spots on taps and
fixtures.

According to a study from The Ohio State University, the
average person cleaning a home spends more than six hours a month
cleaning tap water spots, streaks and scum alone.

Hardness minerals react with soaps and detergents to form an
insoluble, sticky residue that’s difficult to rinse from bath tubs,
sinks, taps and fixtures.

The same soap residue is often left on hair, skin and clothing, too.
Although not highly visible in these instances, it can cause your
skin to dry and itch, and clothing to fade and wear prematurely.

How You Can Know If You Have Hard Water

The simplest way to ascertain if water is hard or soft is the
lather/froth test. Soft water lathers easily with soap, whereas
hard water does not. Toothpaste also does not froth well in hard
water. More accurate methods of hardness detection use a wet
titration method to determine hardness.

Below are the top reasons why hard water could be a problem in your
area:

1. Rings around your bathtub
2. Soap scum on faucets/taps, sinks, fixtures
3. Clogged showerheads
4. Furred up kettle
5. Spots on dishes, shower doors, and foundation of taps
6. Reduced ability of soaps and detergents to froth up
7. Yellow and dingy clothes that require extra rinsing
to remove a soap residue
8. Build-up of minerals inside pipes causing blockages
9. Higher than normal heating bills caused by reduced
efficiency of water heaters causing increased water heating
costs again due to build-up of minerals
10.Possible skin infections from bacteria trapped in pores
underneath soap scum

Considering that 85% of US and almost 60% of UK homes get hard
water, it would be thought that anyone with hard water would be
aware of it because of the state of their kettle or the stains in
the bath or sinks. However, although these are common symptoms, it
is not always clear why they are forming in the first instance.

If you’d like to find out the state of the water in an area you
live in, you can find out how hard or soft the water is by
contacting the water company in that particular area.

However, if you prefer to simply remove hard water stains by using
a proven step-by-step method using an amazing, easy to use e-book;
please visit our website www.hardwaterstainstips.com.

Hard water causes other problems, as well. Over time, scale formed
from continuous contact with dissolved minerals in water can
collect inside plumbing and on the internal parts of water-using
appliances. Service calls to plumbers and repair persons may become
necessary as water pressure drops and mechanical parts stop working.

Hard water scale can also coat the inside of a water heater and
drastically reduce its heating efficiency. Greater fuel consumption
and higher utility bills result when the appliance has to heat
water through a layer of rock.

According to a study commissioned by the Water Quality Research
Council and conducted at New Mexico State University, water heaters
work 22-30 percent less efficiently with hard water, driving up
utility bills unnecessarily.

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Patrick Henry is a recognized authority on the subject of removing hard water stains. His website, www.hardwaterstainstips.com , provides a wealth of informaion on everything you need to know about removing hard water stains.

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