Hard water is water that has dissolved minerals in it, and while the minerals won't hurt you, they can wreak havok on your home. Hard water is very common, so you may think these household problems are normal, but it doesn't have to be this way. All five of these problems can be solved by installing a water softener in your home. 

White buildup in your shower

Do you have white buildup in your shower, even though you clean it regularly? This unsightly problem is caused by hard water. When soap mixes with the minerals in hard water, it forms a difficult to remove substance, called soap scum. This annoying substance is also called limescale. While it makes your shower look dirty, it's more than just a cosmetic problem. Mold can also attach itself to the soap scum and start growing inside your shower, and some types of mold can cause health problems.

Scratchy clothes

Soap scum also forms inside your washing machine when your detergent mixes with the hard water. It sticks to your clothes, which makes them look dull, and also makes them feel scratchy. If you want your clothes to look new and feel comfortable, you need to start washing them in soft water. Some people use vinegar to soften clothes that have been washed in hard water, but this is only a temporary fix, unlike a water softener. 

Dishes that don't look clean

If your glasses and dishes look dirty or cloudy when you take them out of the dishwasher, you have your hard water to blame. The minerals from the water stick to your dishes, leaving unsightly white markings behind. A short term solution to this problem is to run vinegar or lemon juice through your dishwasher. While this will will remove the stains, you will have to repeat the process regularly, since you're not addressing the root cause of the problem. A water softener will solve your hard water problem once and for all, and your dishes will finally look clean.

Low water flow

Hard water is full of minerals, and those minerals build up on the insides of your pipes. Over time, there will be enough buildup in the pipes to significantly reduce the amount of water that can get through. This leads to low water flow. After 18 months of use in a house with hard water, a shower head will lose 75% of its flow rate. That's a major decrease in water flow! Every pipe and faucet in your house will be negatively affected in this way, and eventually, they can even become completely clogged with minerals.

Higher energy bills

Your appliances can't run as efficiently when you have hard water, which drives up your energy bills. With soft water, a water heater will still be as efficient 15 years later as it was when it was new. In contrast, hard water will make that same water heater operate with 48% less efficiency! This happens because the minerals from the water build up inside the heater, which forces it to work harder. This same problem will affect every household appliances that uses water. Every time you run your dishwasher or your washing machine, you will be consuming more energy and spending more money than you need to. 

Many municipalities have hard water, but that doesn't mean that you have to learn to live with these annoying problems. There's no reason to put up with soap scum in the shower, scratchy clothes, dirty dishes, low water flow, or high energy bills. You can solve all of these problems if you go to websites and have a water softener installed in your house.