Signs and Symptoms of Hard Water
There are several telltale signs of hard water in your home or business: Soap scum buildup in your tub or shower. Brown or reddish stains in your sinks, showers, and toilets. Additional soap required to get your body, laundry, and dishes clean.
Hard water stains are known by many names – limescale, mineral deposits, mineral buildup, hard water deposits – but the meaning is the same. Hard water stains appear as chalky white residue that results from buildup of excess minerals present in hard water.
These hard water stains are not permanent; however, if they're allowed to build up over time, you could end up with layers of scale in your bathroom plumbing or around the valves of your dishwasher which could lead to costly repairs down the line.
These stains are caused by large amounts of iron in your water. That's because minerals like calcium, magnesium, lime, and iron attach to nearly every surface they encounter. In deep wells, where oxygen content is low, water containing dissolved iron and manganese will appear clear and colorless at the tap.
Although a low level of iron cannot harm your health, it contains bacteria. In addition to this, high iron in water content leads to an overload which can cause diabetes, hemochromatosis, stomach problems, and nausea. It can also damage the liver, pancreas, and heart.
Hard water (rain is soft) is the presence of calcium, magnesium, lime and iron in drinking water. The microscopic iron particles, upon mixing with oxygen, form iron oxide and cling to the surface of bathtubs and sink. As they build up, they create an orange or brown stain.
Calcium, Lime, and Rust Remover, or simply CLR, is a common cleaning agent for hard water stains and rust. Its heavy-duty nature is quite effective at removing hard water stains, including limescale.
Mix half water and half white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray the entire sink or tub until it's saturated. Let the vinegar and water work on the hard water stains for 20 minutes. Respray the stained areas and scrub them with an old toothbrush.
For really tough hard water stains, try scrubbing with some hydrogen peroxide. Yep, the same stuff you have in your first aid kit. Hydrogen peroxide plus some elbow grease should banish even the most stubborn of hard water spots from your metal fixtures.
Make a paste with two parts vinegar and one part baking soda and let that classic fizzy chemical reaction lift away your hard water deposits. Your handy scrubber brush will help you scrape away any remaining residue. Pro → These items are cost effective and commonly found in your home.
Over time, clothes washed in hard water can become discolored. Brightly colored items tend to fade, and white clothes can develop a yellowish tint. These problems occur because the high amounts of calcium and magnesium in hard water don't mix well with laundry detergent.
You can eliminate brown water from your home for good by running cold water from your tap for at least 20 minutes. If the water is still brown after this, contact your city's utility provider and request that they flush out the brown water with a fire hydrant. If the problem persists after this, call the professionals.
Hard water stains can become permanent if left too long. It's best to remove hard water stains as soon as they appear. While it may be tempting to let a mild stain sit until cleaning day, the longer it sits the harder it is to remove.
Typically these problems clear up within a couple of hours, but can take as long as several days to return to normal. In temporary situations like this we recommend not using hot water at all if possible, to keep the discolored water from being drawn into your water heater.
Lemon and Salt
Fresh lemon juice is a powerful tool to combat red and brown rust stains. First, apply coarse salt to the area. Now apply the lemon juice liberally. Allow the solution to soak for no more than 5 minutes – any more time can actually cause damage due to the acidic nature of the lemon juice.
No matter how clean you keep your shower, hard water stains are going to accumulate. And they can be very difficult to remove from your shower doors. But if you have a can of WD-40 Multi-Use product on hand, you can remove hard water stains from shower doors quickly and easily.
Hard water contains minerals that create a barrier, preventing moisture from getting to the hair. Hair washed in hard water may become excessively dry, leading to other problems in the future. With continued use, hard water may lead to weakened hair strands and follicles.
Iron and rusty water…
Water with high iron content will typically appear brownish when it comes out of the tap because it contains fine sediment particles. This can occur if your home is served by a rusty municipal water supply, or for several other reasons.
Your water might be brown in only one bathroom if there's an issue in the water pipes leading to this one bathroom. For instance, if the pipes leading to one bathroom are corroding, it could cause rust and metals to get into your bathroom water, giving it a brown tinge.
If the first water taken after a long time or break becomes clear after a few seconds, you don't have to worry. This brown water is caused by small corrosion spots in the pipe that occur with stagnant water. The water is brown or reddish brown, because loose rust particles are rinsed out when the tap is first used.
Brita pitcher filters are not certified to reduce iron in drinking water, but they are certified to reduce certain other heavy metals like lead and mercury, and activated carbon technology has been proven to reduce iron in drinking water. Brita pitcher filters used for rusty water may have shorter filter lives.