Have you ever noticed white cloudy-looking stains on your shower head? These stains suggest there is hard water in your pipes. You can easily get rid of these stains by following hard water DIY solutions.
Here are the top 9 hard water DIY solutions you can use to counter hard water at home:
- Use vinegar.
- Add RinseAid to the dishwasher.
- Invest in hard water beauty products.
- Install special shower head filters.
- Use water softeners.
- Boil hard water to eliminate minerals.
- Add baking soda before cooking in hard water.
- Use washing soda for laundry.
- Install RO filters.
Some experts also suggest that boiling hard water removes impurities, making it suitable for cooking. Softening hard water also protects your skin from certain skin disorders and prevents hair from further damage. Let’s discuss the best hard water solutions you can do at home.
Table of Contents
Hard Water Solutions
Hard water droplets leave their residue on the surface it comes in contact with. You may have noticed white to yellow-brown or rusty-colored stains on your kitchen sink, shower head, and bathroom tiles – all because of hard water.
Let’s see how you can clean these hard water stains at home using vinegar, water softeners, rinse-aid, baking soda, or filters.
1. Use Vinegar
Calcium and vinegar are highly reactive when put together. Therefore, vinegar is an excellent way to eliminate hard water stains.
All you have to do is warm up some vinegar and dip a piece of cloth into it. Use the cloth to remove calcium residue build-up on your faucets.
You can also pour the vinegar and water solution into a large bowl, put all the dirty appliances in, and let them soak for a few hours. Wait for the magical results!
2. Add RinseAid
The whitish spots you often see on kitchenware like glasses, dishes, plates, bowls, or cups are due to soap scum formed by hard water.
You can easily remove these spots by adding a rinse aid to your dishwasher. Rinse aid is a product that helps prevent water from leaving marks after drying on a surface. It softens the water and speeds up the dishwasher’s drying process.
3. Invest in Suitable Shampoo and Soap
Soap, shampoos, and detergents do not react well with hard water. So, you’ll need more time to wash the soap and shampoo off your body.
How about you invest in special showering products that do not cause these problems?
These products have special ingredients, namely ‘chelating agents’ that easily dissolve the minerals in hard water.
Bonus Tip: Don’t forget to use a good moisturizer after washing your body with chelating agents, as these products can induce dryness.
4. Install Shower Head Filters
Carbon or mixed-media filters can be the ultimate solution for clogged shower heads. Limestone in hard water can plug your shower heads, leading to bad hair, bad skin, and even worse – water pressure.
A good shower head, that is resistant to the effects of hard water, can prolong the life of your shower head. It protects your skin from disorders like eczema and solves your hair problems. It is a great investment.
5. Use Water Softeners
Among all the solutions, using water softeners is probably the best. Even though water softeners cost more than filters, beauty products, and cupboard staples, they provide the best results.
Ion-exchange softeners are a great example of water softeners. Water softeners give a longer life to household appliances.
You might have to invest more in a yearly supply of soap and shampoos than you would for water softeners. This way, water softeners are an economical option to soften hard water.
The same is true for Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC), a water conditioning system. The TAC system does not remove minerals like water softeners. Instead, it converts these minerals into a crystallized form, thus, preventing the crystals (minerals) from sticking to the surface.
6. Boil Impure Minerals
We all know that boiling water removes impurities. In the case of hard water, the impurity is calcium.
If you treat hard water at a high flame, you will see a white layer forming on the surface; this chalky-white substance is calcium. You can further strain the water and use it for various purposes.
7. Add Baking Soda Before Cooking with Hard Water
Although cooking in hard water is possible, it’s not recommended. This is because hard water changes the texture of your food, making it tough and rubbery.
A simple solution is to add a teaspoon of baking soda. Baking soda will soften the food by altering its pH levels.
8. Use Washing Soda for Laundry
Washing soda (sodium bicarbonate) reacts with minerals in hard water, dissolving them. This results in softening the hard water, and you get cleaner, softer, and good-smelling clothes after laundry.
You can also use special hard water detergents to eliminate laundry problems.
9. Install RO Filters
Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems are not as effective as water softeners, although they can still purify your water.
RO filters also remove calcium and magnesium ions from hard water, providing you with cleaner and drinkable water.
How Can You Test for Hard water?
You can perform a small test to see if you have hard water. You would require a water bottle and liquid soap to test your hard water.
- Fill your bottle with tap water (one-third).
- Add a few drops of liquid soap to your water bottle.
- Give a good shake and set the bottle on the table.
- Wait for bubbles to form. If there is no formation of bubbles, you have hard water.
Why Is It Important to Remove Hard Water?
Mild to moderately high mineral content is good for health and household appliances.
However, a very high amount of minerals may build up on glassware, kitchen sinks, tiles, toilets, washing machines, etc., due to prolonged exposure to hard water. This can reduce the life expectancy of electronic devices.
Similarly, hard water may leave behind mineral residue in pipes, decreasing its lifespan.
Hard water, when in contact with skin, may make you feel dry and irritated. In the same way, hard water affects your hair’s texture, increases blood pressure, and can cause kidney and heart issues.
This is why it is important to remove minerals from hard water.
FAQs
Are Hard Water Stains Permanent?
Hard water stains can be permanent if they are not removed as soon as they appear.
It’s always wise to get rid of the stains and not let them sit for too long. Once the water evaporates, the minerals in hard water sit behind, leaving white or yellowish stains on the surface.
How to Remove Hard Water from an Aquarium?
You can install RO filters in the aquarium that will purify and supply clean water to the fish.
Some experts suggest you use driftwood or peat moss as they release tannins that soften and filter the water.
What is the Best Remedy for Hard Water Stains at Home?
Vinegar is one of the best remedies you can try at home. Mixing vinegar with baking soda can remove hard water spots from glassware, faucets, fixtures, and shower heads.
It’s a cheap solution and worth a try!
How can I remove hard water stains from my glass shower doors?
There are several ways to remove hard water stains from glass shower doors. One effective method is to use a mixture of vinegar and water to dissolve and remove the mineral buildup. Another option is to create a paste using baking soda and water to scrub away the stains. Read my article about removing hard water stains from shower doors.
Final Thoughts
You need to be proactive in removing hard water stains. Otherwise, leaving hard water for too long can make the stains permanent.
Prolonged exposure to hard water leads to skin and hair problems. It also decreases the longevity of household items, electronic devices, and chrome fixtures.
To counter that, you can use vinegar, baking soda, and washing soda to soften the hard water. Installing RO filters, changing shower heads, and using rinse-aid provide sustainable relief to your hard water problems.
So which of the hard water DIY solutions are you going to try? Let us know!