What is Hard Water? Advantages and Disadvantages of Hard Water
Even though 75% of the Earth is filled with water, only 2.5% of it is freshwater, and most of the freshwater is in the form of glaciers. This means, that of the total water which is available on the earth, only 0.02% can be used.
In India, the primary problem is the scarcity of water, and it is followed by the problem of dealing with hard water. Hard water cannot be consumed without proper treatment as it is very hazardous to health. A recent survey conducted by Brita has revealed that the hardness level of water in many households was way above the ideal limit of 200 mg/l.
But what exactly is hard and soft water? Let’s proceed and know about it in detail.
What is Hard Water?
Hard water is water that contains a high amount of minerals like calcium, magnesium, and sometimes manganese and other cations. Hard water occurs under natural conditions when the water moves through rocks like limestone and chalk that consist of minerals like calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate.
Groundwater is the most common source of hard water.
What is Soft Water?
Unlike hard water, soft water has a low concentration of ions, particularly calcium and magnesium. Mostly, you can find soft water on the surface itself. The most common source of soft water is rainwater.
Our body needs a certain quantity of calcium and magnesium. And if you only drink soft water, your body will be deprived of such essential minerals, which can again have a negative health impact.
You may also like to read our detailed post on the difference between hard water and soft water.
Types of Hard Water
Hard water can be again divided into two categories, depending upon the fact whether the hardness of the water can be easily removed or not.
Temporary Hard Water
Temporary hardness is due to dissolved bicarbonate minerals like magnesium bicarbonate and calcium bicarbonate. These dissolved bicarbonate yield cations of calcium and magnesium along with carbonate and bicarbonate anions. The presence of these cations makes the water hard. However, the temporary hardness of the water can be reduced by boiling the water or by adding lime.
Permanent Hard Water
It results from the presence of calcium sulfate/calcium chloride or magnesium sulfate/magnesium chloride. The presence of these ions makes it difficult to remove the hardness of the water even by boiling it. It is because the ions do not precipitate out. The permanent hardness of water can only be reduced with a hard water softener but not with any natural methods.
You may also like to read more about how to convert hard water to soft water.
What are the Signs of Hard Water?
Hard water that consists of a high mineral can create several problems. From leaving your skin dry to depositing scale on the appliances, hard water can cause serious damage. Most often, we see these signs, but we fail to draw a link to them with the hard water. If you are now wondering whether you are supplied with hard water, it’s time for you to check that out. Here are a few signs of hard water:
1. The Buildup of Soap Scum
Do you have to keep removing the white spots from the fixture? Are you wondering what is creating that? Well, that’s the hard water that has left behind the calcium deposits. Calcium minerals not only stick to the faucet but also soaps and detergents and make them ineffective. Also, this makes the soap sticky instead of slippery.
2. Clogged Pipes
Scale deposits because of hard water can clog the showerheads and pipes. The clogged pipes create hindrance for the water to flow properly. If you need to make frequent calls to the plumbers, the chances are high that you are supplied with hard water.
3. Dry, Itchy Skin
When you take a shower in hard water, the soaps are left behind. The leftover soap, which is stuck in the skin, will suck out the moisture from the skin and will make it dry and itchy. Hard water creates eczema-like symptoms.
Do you know that clean-looking tap water in your home can damage your hair, skin, and nails?
4. Faded Laundry
Hard water makes the soap incapable. And the detergents are no exception! When you wash your clothes in hard water, they will not feel completely cleaned. Also, the residue of the detergents will fade the color of the clothes. It’s time for you to check your towel. Is it as soft as it was when you bought it? Or has it become hard? If your towel has become stiff, you are washing it in hard water.
5. The Appliances Wear Out Earlier
The scale deposition by hard water can create havoc on the appliances. From your dishwasher to the washing machine, and geysers, hard water can reduce the life span of all the appliances. For instance, the expected life span of a washing machine is 11 years. However, if you operate the washing machine in hard water, the life span of the appliance reduces to 7 years.
These are a few signs that will indicate whether you are using hard water or not.
If you want to be 100% sure about how hard the water is, we suggest you check out our detailed post on how to check water hardness at home.
Advantages of Hard Water
Tastes Better: The taste of hard water is better than soft water. Soft water is tasteless. But if you are drinking hard water, you will notice that it has a taste.
Strengthens Bone & Teeth: Hard water acts as a dietary supplement of both calcium and magnesium. And your bones and teeth are mainly built from calcium. As a result, the consumption of hard water strengthens your bones and teeth.
Digestive Health and Constipation: The right mixture of calcium and manganese reduces constipation and helps to fight it. Also, the calcium that is present in the hard water combines with the excess bile and fats, and then the substance is eliminated from the body through bowel movements.
Disadvantages of Hard Water
Lather Formation: When you wash clothes with hard water, instead of producing lather, the soap forms a white precipitate. The white precipitate is the scum. And without the formation of the lather, your clothes don’t get cleaned.
Stains: Hard water stains your clothes. Instead of producing lather, the detergent produces scum. This scum then stains your clothes and also washes away their colors. Further, your clothes turn scratchy due to calcium scum.
Hard water also stains your bath tiles, glass, and bath fittings. If not cleaned regularly, the calcium deposits can form a very hard-to-remove layer on the bath fittings. The cloud-like watermarks that are left on the utensils are because of hard water only.
Impact on Hair: If you keep washing your hair with hard water, you will keep having bad hair days. When you wash your hair with hard water, your hair becomes dry and rough. This is because of the excess minerals that are present in the hard water, which becomes a curd-like substance, and it sticks to your hair. As a result, you might feel like washing your hair, but it will make your hair frizzier.
Impact on Skin: Taking a bath with hard water, makes your skin dry and itchy. It is because the leftover soap residue sticks to your body. The leftover residue creates eczema-like symptoms. Such an issue is more common in children.
Reduces the Life of Appliances: If you keep operating the appliances of your household with hard water, the lifespan of the appliances will reduce drastically. Hard water wears down the appliances slowly, and eventually, they break down. Also, the build-up from the minerals of the hard water reduces the efficiency of the machines. The expected lifespan of a dishwasher is ten years. However, if you use hot water to run it, the life span will reduce to seven years.
Similarly, a faucet should run for nine years. But with hard water, it will only run for five years. That’s how drastically hard water wears down the appliances.
Corrosion of Pipes: Hard water deposits can not only corrode the pipe but also clog it. As a result, the water that can pass through the pipe is reduced. And this only slows the flow of water. Pipe corrosion can also result in the leaching of metals in the water which is not safe for consumption.
Is Hard Water Safe to Drink?
From the point of hard water’s impact on your health, if the mineral content in the hard water is within the permissible limit, then the hard water is safe to drink. It can fulfill your requirement for calcium and magnesium. As per the BIS guidelines, if the TDS level of the water at your home is lower than 500 mg/l then it is safe to drink. However, the ideal TDS level of drinking water should be below 300 mg/l, preferably in the range of 80-150 mg/l.
Click to read: Are TDS and Hardness the same?
If the mineral content exceeds the permissible limit then excessive hardness in the drinking water can be a cause for concern.
However, your RO water purifier can easily take care of all your hard water woes.
Conclusion
The biggest challenge with hard water is using it for other residential and industrial uses like laundry, bathing, cleaning, etc.
Apart from ruining your dishwashers, washing machines, and geysers, hard water can also cause serious damage to the health of your skin and hair.
In such a case, it becomes important to treat hard water to make it soft. In the next post, we’ll discuss how you can convert hard water to soft water.
I prefer alkaline water rather than regular mineral water. I tried different types of water but no water is as good and as refreshing as Hege Water. As it is pure and untouched water procured from the Himalayas & contains all the essential minerals which helps improve our immune system.
Great blog! Thank you for the valuable information. This blog explains perfectly about hard water its advantages & disadvantages. Please share more information like these.