July 24, 2020
Low water quality is a more common issue than most people realize. In fact, the overwhelming majority of homes across the area and even across the country have to deal with a public water supply that’s not as pure as they would like (or even as pure as they might think). That means there’s a pretty strong chance that the water that’s entering your home and being distributed from tap to tap isn’t as clean or clear as you might imagine it is, or think it should be.
Are you one of the many homes (or businesses) that has to deal with this issue? It’s actually pretty easy to figure that out for yourself. Here are five signs that you’re dealing with low-quality water as well as a few different things you can do to help rectify the issue.
Your Faucets Have A Stubborn White Residue On Nozzles
Have you noticed a strange white residue that has caked on the nozzles of the various faucets and taps throughout your home? This is fairly normal in homes with hard water, particularly homes with older faucets and plumbing fixtures that have been in use for years. This residue is called limescale, and is a mixture of calcium and magnesium—two substances that are the biggest contributor to a condition known as “hard water.” It is possible to clean this residue away, but we advise getting rid of the problem at the source by improving your overall water quality.
Your Skin & Hair Are Dry & Unhealthy
Bathing in hard water can have some negative effects on the health of your skin and hair. Hard water is particularly harsh on skin, and it can strip the moisture away from the upper layers of your epidermis, giving you dry, flaky skin that could even be prone to cracking during particularly cold weather. Your hair may also feel clean, but it could also feel stiff, coarse, and generally wiry and unruly when washed with hard water. Excessive hard water can even cause it to slowly lose volume, and that’s something nobody wants. If you find you’re spending a ton of money on revitalizing shampoo and lotion for your skin, there’s a decent chance that hard water may be the ultimate culprit.
Your Food Tastes Strange
Poor quality water is water that can have a number of different substances in it. While we’ve already discussed minerals like calcium and magnesium, water can also have trace amounts of substances like lead and other heavy metals dissolved it. Public water may also have trace amounts of pesticides or other chemical components absorbed from groundwater. All of these can contribute to some strange tastes in your food, including making things you once loved seem flat out unpalatable.
Your Clothes Feel Scratchy & Look Faded
Poor quality water isn’t just bad for cleaning yourself—it’s bad for cleaning your home and the things you have in it. Doing laundry with poor quality water can be bad for the clothes you’re washing. This type of water has been proven to be particularly rough on softer materials like cotton, resulting in them feeling scratchy, harsh, or rough on skin. Clothes actually wear out faster when washed in hard water, meaning you’ll actually wind up spending more money in the long run by constantly replacing them.
Your Dishes Have Spots & Streaks
Have you noticed that porcelain, crystal, glassware, and other dishes often have water spots left behind on them when the washing cycle is complete? This is a common side effect of impure water. Because of the incredibly high temperatures inside your dishwasher, water tends to evaporate and dry quickly. When the water evaporates, it leaves behind the dissolved mineral content, usually in a small form that sticks to the surface of the dish the water droplet evaporated from. Thus, you get water spots that are annoying to look at and leave your dishes looking almost as dirty as they were when they went in.
Tired of poor-quality water making life at home miserable? Call EnviroSafe Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning, Water Treatment at (856) 208-5108 to schedule a water quality test and talk to a member of our team about our premium whole-home water filtration solutions!
