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Knowing the differences between the two types of water can be incredibly beneficial when it comes to what is consumed- what is best for you, for you skin and hair and what is best for your household and all that is within it.

Drinking water
Water, as it falls from the sky is soft water. As it passes through the ground, it hardens by picking up various minerals, including lime, chalk and mostly calcium and magnesium. With the water now possessing these minerals, it becomes the preferred drinking water because of health benefits and the flavor added to it.

Some folk prefer to distil and soften their water- interestingly, studies have shown that people with cardiovascular diseases and low-sodium diets should refrain from this as, as the minerals are extracted, the sodium content increases. This is of course a health risk.

Hair, skin and clothes
Hard water is the last thing you’d want to be using when practising personal hygiene. The minerals in the water, over power the soap and make it harder to lather. The chemicals in the water leave your hair feeling somewhat sticky, and looking dull, your skin too won’t be as soft. It also means that the water used to wash your clothes will result in them being stiffer. Using soft water for these things also means spending less money on soaps and detergents.

Appliances
Soft water also gets first place in this department. The chemicals in hard water that pass through your dishwasher, washing machine and pipes will cause them to deteriorate at a much faster rate. Using soft water also means that your energy bills will be a lot lower, considering your appliances aren’t having to work as hard with all the chemicals and soaps.

Household chores
For dishes and general household cleaning, soft is best. Hard water is to blame for marks and residue on dishes, again it is harder for the dish soap to lather up. It can cause a stubborn film in the shower and/or tub and nasty soap scum on the shower curtain. More chemicals are required when it comes to hard water in order to combat the fierce chemicals already in it.

The solution

You should know what kind of water is being supplied to you. You will sometimes be able to gauge this by the size of the town or city you live in. Once you know, you’re able to prepare your household. Take advantage of the minerals in the hard water but be wary of the source- the more natural, the better. Otherwise, the sodium introduced when softening water can be tackled by reverse osmosis, distillation and deionization, making water throughout the house better for you and your household and its appliances