How hard water is ruining your cleaning routine - Wolverine Water Systems

How hard water is ruining your cleaning routine

You put in hard work to have a clean home, so we know it’s frustrating when newly cleaned areas still look dull and drab or you can see stubborn spots that just won’t scrub away. The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t matter how fancy your detergent or cleaners are or how hard you scrub, if you have hard water, you will continue to see spots and stains in your home. Here are 5 ways hard water is sabotaging your cleaning routine and one simple way to stop it.

Spotty Dishes

Whether you hand wash and use a drying rack or fill up a dishwasher, stubborn spots on your glassware are annoying and can leave you feeling like your dishes aren’t really clean. (Plus, no one wants to hand a cloudy-looking drinking glass to a house guest). You can try higher wash temperatures, rinse aids, fancy detergents and even some DIY approaches using household pantry staples. These solutions can sometimes make spots less noticeable, but won’t send them away for good. Unless you want to immediately hand-dry all of your glassware after washing, the only way to really get rid of spots on your dishes is to make sure that water you wash them in is free from the minerals found in hard water.

Dingy Laundry

Do your freshly washed clothes ever feel stiff, rough, dingy or just not fully clean? If you have hard water running through your washer and dryer, your detergents and special laundry products aren’t working efficiently. Rather than lifting the dirt out of your clothes and rinsing it away, the extra minerals bind and trap the detergent within the fibers. With each wash, you trap more minerals and soap residue within your clothes, meaning your detergent can’t properly penetrate the fabric. Over time, this trapped residue will weaken the fibers, causing thinning or even holes in your favorite pieces.

While there are some products on the market aimed at combating the effects of hard water, the only way to truly solve the problem is to make sure that your clothes are washed in water free from extra minerals.

Film On Your Faucets

Noticing white film or mineral deposits on your faucets, showerheads and toilet? That’s calcium and limescale buildup from hard water. Not only does it look gross, but it’s a huge pain to scrub away, often requiring a lengthy soak in a descaling solution (and a lot of elbow grease).

Hard water is also to blame for that stubborn soap scum around your bathtub. The minerals in hard water prevent soap from fully dissolving and rinsing away, leaving residue on your tiles, bathtubs and even shower curtains. Even after cleaning with special soap scum-fighting products, these areas can still be left looking dull and unclean.

Inefficient Appliances

You’ve seen hard water buildup on your dishes, faucets, fixtures, clothes, etc. But imagine what that hard water is doing to your pipes and appliances — areas you can’t see. Over time, scale from hard water can make your dishwasher, washing machine and other appliances break down. Shorter appliance lifespans means more money spent fixing or replacing them. Plus, if the scale building gets really bad, it can cause issues in the pipes in your home, meaning even more money spent on expensive whole-home plumbing fixes.

Buildup On Hair and Skin

Hard water can also be a huge drag on your personal hygiene routine. The same hard water minerals that prevent your laundry detergent from properly working are also preventing your shampoo and body washes from getting a full lather. This encourages you to use more to compensate. Plus, the minerals in hard water can also leave behind a fine film, causing dry hair and itchy skin. You may find yourself using more conditioners and moisturizing products to help combat the effects of moisture-stripping hard water.


Hard water is bad news for your cleaning routine, but you don’t have to throw in theb towel. A whole home water purification system can provide a customized solution to combat the exact minerals affecting your home’s water. Making sure the water running through your home is pure and clean will help you use soap and detergents more efficiently, save you time in scrubbing and cleaning, and improve the lifespan of your appliances, fixtures and plumbing.

Schedule a FREE in-home water test today to find out exactly what’s in your water, how it’s affecting your home, and how a whole-home system can help.

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