What Is A Disadvantage Of Soft Water
Cons of Soft Water
Soft water is considered by most experts to be harmful if consumed on a regular basis. Regularly drinking soft water increases a persons sodium levels, which can lead to multiple health problems including blood pressure. These elements can include lead, making it potentially more dangerous.
Negative Effects Of Hard Water On Skin And Hair
If youve ever dealt with mineral clogs on your shower head or sediment buildup in your water heater, you know that hard water can be a huge nuisance. But there are other ways hard water can interfere with your life that you might not be familiar with. Did you know that hard water can contribute to skin problems like psoriasis? Or that it can cause your hair to dry out?
Hard water can cause you and your family a lot of problems in ways that you dont expect. Here are some of the more problematic effects of hard water on skin and hair.
How Does Hard Water Affect Your Body
Incidences of eczema and psoriasis are far more common in hard water areas, but even if you’re not suffering with them, you could still feel the effects. As Dr Bunting delineated, “Minerals being left to dry on the skin may clog pores and cause dryness, triggering breakouts, flaking and itching.”
Aside from just upsetting the delicate skin barrier, hard water saps the skin of moisture – hence why it’s so problematic for anyone suffering with a dermatitis-type condition. To combat the effects, you need not start stockpiling bottled water to bathe in. Instead, Dr Bunting suggested, “Id recommend blotting the skin gently after you get out of the shower rather than vigorously drying, and showers should be kept brief and tepid, not hot. Then, apply a generous layer of a ceramide-enriched moisturising cream to the body to seal in moisture whilst skin is damp post-shower.” Using lotion while the skin is still damp “interrupts” the process of those minerals settling on the skin, while ceramides are vital lipids that help restore the skin barrier.
Vogue recommends: CeraVe Body Lotion has three essential ceramides and countless dermatologist recommendations. £13.50, available at Lookfantastic.com.
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Get A Water Softener For Your Home In Arizona
In Arizona, knowing how to mitigate the issues arising from hard water can make a big difference in your daily life, especially in terms of your skin.
A water softener removes excess calcium and magnesium from the water, transforming it into soft water and eliminating the problems that excess minerals can create. Plus, a water softener wont just help your skin soft water will leave your hair feeling cleaner, protect your appliances from chalky residue, and prevent mineral deposits from building up in your pipes.
With decades of experience serving homeowners in greater Phoenix, the experts at Clear Water Concepts understand the unique challenges of Arizonas hard water. Contact us to learn more about water softeners, and to get a quote for water softener installation in Arizona.
Detergent On Your Skin
Laundry detergent can cause rashes and redness if it maintains long contact with your skin, especially if your skin is sensitive. This can be a real problem for babies and toddlers, and hard water can be the culprit. Laundry detergent that doesnt fully dissolve in hard water can stay behind on clothing as a residue, opening the possibility for the detergent to irritate your childs skin.
The negative effects of hard water on skin and hair can seem endless, but there is a solution: a complete home water filtration system. By refining, cleaning and softening your entire homes water, you can limit or even prevent the severeness of these detrimental health effects. The Guardian Water Services water refiner uses a proprietary five step purification process to ensure your homes water wont contribute to existing skin and hair problems. Schedule your free water quality test with one of our water experts to see the difference our system can make in your home.
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Soft Water Helps Your Skin And Hair Feel Soft After Bathing But What About Itchy Skin Rashes
As a child, perhaps you remember being down the Shore and your parents telling you that salt water was good for any skin ailments or rashes that you had. The salt water seemed to speed up the healing process and reduce itching and redness.
Since water softeners utilize salt to reduce hardness, what are the chances that bathing with it can improve skin conditions such as atopic eczema, psoriasis and other skin abrasions and rashes?
Theres not a lot of research available to prove its efficacy, however a couple of studies conducted in the U.K. indicated that softened water may show positive results for some children with eczema. One study was conducted in areas of the country that were notorious for hard water. Of the over 350 families who qualified, 29 were given use of a water softener for 12 weeks and then were followed up with on a monthly basis to measure the results. Their answers showed:
- 91% recorded less itchiness
- 83% maintained that the water softener reduced the severity of their childs eczema
- of the 78% regularly applying emollients or steroid cream, 67% were using less.
Perhaps more convincingly, at the end of the study, two-thirds of the families opted to purchase the water softeners. Ask your dermatologist if he or she thinks softer water could help improve your irritation.
Remedies For Hard Water
The best remedy for hard water is to try and make it softer. Soft water is literally the opposite of hard water it is water in its purest formminus the mineral ions. Without the minerals, soft water rinses the soaps and detergents from our bodies and clothes much more efficiently. This leaves our pores unclogged, allowing moisture to be absorbed, and with softer, healthier skin.
If you are on a municipal water system, you can ask the water supplier to provide you with the hardness level of the water they deliver. If you have a private water supply, you can have the water tested for hardness. If you suspect or know that your household has hard water and you have well water, the remedy may be as simple as obtaining a water softener. However, if your water is from a public supply, a water softening unit would have to be installed, and this can be much more complicated and expensive. We’re big fans of the AquaBliss High Output Universal Shower Filter with a Replaceable Multi-State Filter Cartridge . It is an Amazon best seller with several thousand insightful reviews. It’s also an Amazon’s Choice product. Before installing a more expensive whole-house system, you should try the AquaBliss Universal Shower Filter.
If you are unable to address your hard water at the source, then there are some other things you can do to protect your skin from its harsh effects:
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How Can I Tell If I Have Hard Water
If you want to know if your shower is spewing hard water, take a look around you. If youve noticed excess soap scum that, no matter how thoroughly you clean and scrub, isnt budging, thats probably it. Several other telltale signs of hard water include white, chalky residue around your faucets or shower heads, or if your soaps and shampoos dont lather well. While these signs are all indicative of hard water in your home, to be sure, its best to perform a water test. A water test will confirm if you have hard water and whether the problem is mild, moderate, or severe.
If you are on a municipal water system, you can ask the water supplier to provide you with the hardness level of the water they deliver. Better yet, request a copy of their latest water quality report. If you have a private water supply, such as a private well, you can use a DIY home test kit to check the water for hardness. Alternatively, you can send a water sample from your tap to a certified local lab for testing. Professional testing can detect various other contaminants that can be toxic to you and your familys health.
How To Treat Eczema Dry Skin & Dry Hair
The only permanent way to get rid of hard water is with a water softener. Skin and hair products cant solve the problem and are a temporary help. Water softeners work by removing calcium and magnesium minerals from the water in your home. This softer water is kinder to skin and requires only a small amount of soaps and detergents. It reduces the chance of irritation and ensures the water doesnt remove precious moisture from sensitive skin. O find out more info about how we can help your family and for a free hard water testing, click to enquire online or call us.
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Can Softened Water Be Too Soft
Soft water works harmoniously with soap and shampoo! Most people, after using soft water for 1 month, cant go back to the hard water feeling. And if all else fails, it is possible to allow for a very small amount of hardness to come through the water to remove that feeling, but we do not recommend it.
How Does Hard Water Affect Your Hair
If you’ve been battling a flaky, irritated scalp and flat, lifeless hair, your daily shower could be to blame. Michael Lendon, Creative Director at Aveda, said “Your scalp is just skin – it needs just as much hydration as the rest of you. People usually condition the lengths of their hair, but the scalp doesn’t get the same nourishment, which makes dryness really common. Also, the porosity of your hair and the physical barrier it creates on your scalp means hard water gets ‘trapped’ somewhat, leaving minerals there.”
Trichologist Ricardo Vila Nova operates a clinic in Harrods, but see clients all over the world. He noted that he finds very different issues from country to country, thanks to varying levels of water hardness. “Hard water can irritate even the oiliest of scalps. Even if you think you have very fine hair that has to be washed daily to avoid it looking greasy, the hard water can dry your scalp out to be point where it becomes dehydrated and oily.” Likewise, if your scalp is already on the slightly dry side, hard water can push it over the edge into flaky territory. “Hard water also makes the hair flat,” added Vila Nova. “It erodes the hair elasticity and leaves the hair very rough, as it lifts the cuticle.”
Lendon and Vila Nova concurred that the best option to reverse the damage was to add in a weekly scalp mask to help lift away any mineral traces, use a gentle shampoo, and then finish with a scalp toner to hydrate and soothe.
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How Do You Soften Hard Water Naturally
Use Washing Soda When Doing the Laundry
It helps soften both temporary and permanent hard water. In simple terms, washing soda gets rid of the dissolved calcium and magnesium in hard water. The removal of these mineral ions from the water results in softer water. This helps make it easier for soaps to lather up.
What Is Hard Water
According to Byron Bedford, who is CEO of ProEconomy , it’s the mineral quality that affects the hardness. “It may have flowed through limestone and chalk, which leaves deposits of calcium and magnesium. Soft water, on the other hand, is largely free of minerals – falling rain, for example.”
Cosmetic dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting listed some of the tell-tale signs of hard water as “Soap not lathering sufficiently, your clothes feeling rough to the touch, a build-up of scale on your taps and a sort of “film” on shower doors or bathtubs.”
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Determining If You Have Hard Water
Almost everything you do in your home from cooking to bathing to cleaning requires water. Those with higher levels of water hardness will notice that clothing or linens feel tough after washes, and that dishes may develop white chalky spots.
Here are a few other signs that you have hard water:
- Soap not lathering sufficiently
- Clothing that feels rough to the touch
- Scale buildup on faucets and porcelain stains
- Film on shower doors, walls, bathtubs and faucets
- A film of soap on the skin
- Dry, irritated skin and flat hair
- Low water pressure
Although many of these things indicate water hardness, theres only one tried-and-true way to know for sure: purchase an at-home test, or request a test for free through your water utility. Some water softening companies will also provide free testing.
These tests determine how many milligrams of calcium carbonate are present per liter of water . The general guidelines for testing water are as follows:
- 0 to 60 mg/L classified as soft
- 61 to 120 mg/L considered moderately hard
- 121 to 180 mg/L classified as hard
- More than 180 mg/L considered very hard
How You Can Shower Safely Without Worsening Your Breakouts
#1 RO Filters- For Acting Against Hard Water, Chlorine & Chloramines:
RO filters are the only solution that can filter out hard water minerals as well as chemicals like chlorine and chloramine from water. They are moderately expensive- an undersink RO filter starts in the 200$ range.
If you think your skin may be acting up because of hard water, my suggestion would be to try bathing with bottled water for a few weeks. If you see any improvement in your skin, you could then actively consider getting a RO filter for your house,
Though generally used as a drinking water filter, you can get a bit of customization work done by your plumber and connect the filter outlet to your bathroom to get purified water in the shower.
#2 Shower filter- For Acting Against Chlorine & Chloramine
I always recommend getting a shower filter anyway because of how prevalent chlorine/ chloramine is in our water. Even if we discount the fact that these chemicals may have other serious effects on health, as they are unproven, the fact remains that chlorine and chloramine are damaging for the skin.
Also- a shower filter is quite inexpensive, and along with chlorine and chloramines, it can also removes heavy metals and other micro particles in water.
For removing chlorine and chloramines, Id suggest you go for a Vitamin C shower filter, . Otherwise, I suggest buying a KDF shower filter that removes chlorine, heavy metals and other impurities,
#3 Ion Exchange Water softener- Only For Hard Water
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Why Does Hard Water Irritate Skin
When hard water dries or evaporates, it leaves behind scale made up of dissolved minerals and rock. If you bathe in hard water, some of this scale may be left on your skin causing dryness and irritation. But another culprit is when soap and hard water mix.
Together, soap and hard water form a film that doesnt rinse away completely. This is the soapy film that causes bathtub rings or deposits on shower doors and curtains, but it also leaves that same residue on your skin and hair. This film often clogs pores and prevents the natural oils in your skin from lubricating your skin and helping it retain moisture. This can leave your skin sticky, dry or irritated.
If you suffer from a skin condition like eczema or psoriasis, hard water can make things worse. Although hard water does not cause eczema or psoriasis, studies suggest that hard water can damage the skin and contribute to the development of chronic skin conditions or worsen symptoms for those who already have a skin problem.
Softened Water Shown To Reduce Psoriasis Irritation
The purpose of World Psoriasis Day on October 29 is a global event that looks to give an international, powerful voice to the 125 million people living with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Through awareness, education and other related programs, those living with psoriasis may find ways to love happier, healthier, and more comfortably through the latest treatment options. Psoriasis support groups perform activities all over the world to raise awareness about psoriasis and give people with psoriasis the attention and consideration they deserve. There are tricks that you can do to help reduce outbreaks and irritating conditions, but perhaps the most useful and effective tip is to drink more water and higher quality water with a drinking water system and bathe in softened water from a water softener.
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What Are The Effects Of Hard Water On Skin
Hard water, as opposed to soft water, is water with a higher-than-normal mineral content. Dry skin is one of the most common effects of hard water on skin. Since hard water makes it more difficult to rinse soaps and shampoos from the skin’s surface, the skin may also become irritated. To prevent hard water from affecting skin, people can limit their exposure to hard water and use less soap on their bodies.
Hard water is a common problem for many households, especially those that use well water. This type of water contains many minerals, particularly calcium and magnesium. This occurs when ground water seeps through the soil and rocks.
Dry skin is one of the most common problems of prolonged exposure of hard water. When the water comes in contact with a person’s skin, a small portion of the minerals are left behind. These deposits can leach the moisture and natural oils from the skin.
People with sensitive skin or skin conditions will also often have problems when they are exposed to hard water. Psoriasis and eczema sufferers, for instance, will often experience more dryness and irritation after being exposed to hard water. If hard water is the cause of frequent skin problems, avoiding the offending water is often necessary to help clear the skin up.