硬水-你家里有问题的8个主要迹象

You just moved into a new place and you notice something is not quite right. There’s something going on, and you have a sneaking suspicion it might have to do with the tap water.

硬水问题可能是一个真正的麻烦, especially for new homeowners who may be unfamiliar with the issues it causes. Solving those problems can vastly improve your family’s quality of life and get things back to normal again.

那么什么是硬水呢?

We all learned in school that water is H2O – two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom make up a water molecule, right? 加拿大28走势图许多人没有意识到的是 额外的东西 能进入加拿大28走势图喝的水吗. 其中一些是完全安全的, while other water contaminants could negatively impact your family’s health. 但是自来水肯定不是100%纯水.

硬水基本上是含有大量矿物质的水. Groundwater often percolates through limestone where it picks up calcium and magnesium deposits.

饮用水也含有微量矿物质，如铁, 从土壤中吸收的, 湖泊和河流——甚至更古老, 腐蚀管道. In some regions, hard water may also contain manganese or aluminum.

Of course, things like calcium, magnesium and iron aren’t necessarily bad for you. 事实上，它们是有益的营养物质. 然而, hard water sediments can also carry potentially harmful bacteria along with them. A 2014年的研究 found hard water scaling is directly responsible for bacterial growth in residential drinking water.

If your home gets water from a well, you most likely have hard water. 但这不仅仅是农村的问题. 美国.S. 地质调查局说全国85%的家庭有硬水.

下面是硬水会引起的8个潜在问题. 有听起来耳熟的吗?

1. 你的水尝起来或闻起来怪怪的

A strange odor or taste to drinking water is often one of the first clues you have a water conditioning problem. It’s a sure-sign there is hard water or some sort of bacterial contaminant.

例如，如果你的水有一种令人不快的金属味. 这可能是太多的铁了.

如果你的水闻起来像臭鸡蛋, that could be naturally occurring hydrogen sulfide gas or certain bacteria reacting with magnesium to form sulfates.

有些人说他们的水尝起来像土.

这可能是沉积物(真正的污垢)，旧管道或藻类. 藻华也会给自来水带来发霉的味道.

没有人喜欢喝有怪味的水. 但这只是你问题的开始.

2. 你身上有奇怪的污渍

Ugly brown or reddish stains on the porcelain are a big embarrassment.

你也可以把这归咎于硬水——特别是铁.

这些污渍看起来很像铁锈，这不是巧合. 水中的铁可能来自生锈的管道.

You’ll have to use a lot of elbow grease to get rid of those stains.

有些人建议用醋 帮助清洁和去除它们. Unfortunately, the stains will keep reappearing until you fix your hard water problem.

3. 你总是在清理肥皂渣

Another unsightly issue is the appearance of those white, hard water spots.

That’s what you get when water evaporates and leaves calcium deposits behind.

When you have hard water, you’ll notice nasty soap scum seems to accumulate all over the place. That’s because soap and the minerals in hard water just don’t play nicely together.

If your dishes are always spotty, it may not be your dishwasher, it’s probably your water. What’s worse – soap scum left on shower curtains can lead to the development of a microbial biofilm that might contain disease-spreading bacteria.

用硬水, you may find yourself cleaning the bathroom and kitchen more often and using more cleaning product to get the job done. 谁想这么做?

4. 你的淋浴体验会受到影响

Showering is your time to escape the world for ten minutes to wash the dirt and worries away. 但是当你有硬水时，淋浴时间就会被破坏.

As we’ve mentioned, minerals cause hard water to react ineffectively with soap.

这使得你洗澡时很难产生好的泡沫. It also makes it more difficult to wash all the soap off your body, 在你的皮肤上留下一层肥皂残留物.

硬水的沉淀物也会堵塞你的淋浴头. 这意味着较弱的水压.

用硬水, you may not be getting as clean and you may notice your hair is hard to manage. 是的，硬水甚至可能是你头发不好的原因.

• 了解更多关于 在硬水里洗澡

5. 你的管道总是堵塞

Showerheads aren’t the only things that can get clogged up thanks to hard water.

它也可能导致重大的管道问题.

水垢在你的管道里积聚, 就像动脉里的斑块, 限制水流的, eventually leading to backups and the need to call a plumber for help.

如果你有PVC或铜管，这可能不是一个问题. 这在老旧的钢管中最常见.

6. 你的衣服不干净

硬水可以有 对洗衣的负面影响 – and once again – it’s all due to the rocky relationship minerals like calcium and magnesium have with soap and detergent.

肥皂用来洗去污垢和污垢, 但是当肥皂洗不掉的时候, 它实际上会增加你衣服上的土壤.

Clothes washed in hard water often appear dingy and wear out faster. 它甚至会让你的毛巾变得粗糙.

When you have hard water, you may have to buy detergent formulated to soften the water for you.  然而, you’ll likely have to use more laundry detergent (and hotter water) to get your clothes clean. 它甚至建议人们使用硬水 四次 和洗涤剂一样多.

Plus, just as iron stains your bathroom fixtures, it can stain your clothes. Premature yellowing of your whites could be caused by iron content in the water. When combined with bleach, iron oxidizes, and iron oxide is just another name for rust.

• 了解更多关于 硬水和洗衣

7. 你的家人有皮肤过敏的问题

因为用硬水清洗会留下肥皂, 它会导致人们的皮肤干燥和发痒.

Mineral deposits left on the body can also suck moisture right out of your skin.

The skin condition eczema is fairly common, especially among younger children.

有研究表明 在硬水中洗澡可能会引起湿疹症状 进一步恶化.

Another study concluded exposure to hard water could increase the risk of developing eczema in elementary-school-age children.

8. 你的电器很快就坏了

这可能是最昂贵的硬水问题. 这些水垢沉积物会对许多人造成严重破坏 家里的电器从洗碗机到热水器.

A build up of sediment in your water heater can make it far less efficient. 其他电器也是如此. 低效率意味着更高的水电费.

The icemaker in your fridge can stop working as scale deposits clog up valves. The American 水 Works Association says hard water can cause a washing machine to wear out 30% faster than normal.

It’s not difficult to see how hard water can cost you money in the long run. 事实上，据估计，硬水的费用可能会让你付出代价 $800或以上 每年.

水调理如何起作用

不同的问题有不同的解决方案, 但对于你所有的硬水问题，只有一个完美的答案. 那就是在家里安装一个软水器.

软水器可以去除钙等物质, 镁和铁会从你的水源中消失. 这是一项既省钱又省事的投资.

还有其他类型的水调理产品, 就像反渗透系统, 哪些可以帮助消除潜在的有害污染物.

If you’re ready to look into the possibility of a water softener in your home, 或者如果你只是对可用的选项有疑问, see our all of our quality product lines below to find a water conditioning expert near you.