Will Soft Water Give Me Cleaner Dishes?

You’ve pulled your holiday dishes out of storage and washed them all. As you get ready to set the table, you find that your dishes have white spots and a filmy residue all over them! You have a meal to cook, guests to prepare for, and now you need to hand wash them all again.
If you constantly battle with spotty dishes, the culprit may be hard water. Installing a water softener will help eliminate this problem, along with many other hard water issues you may have been noticing. If you are looking forward to impressing your guests the next time you’re entertaining, add a water softener to the list of holiday preparations!

Soft Water Cleans Better
If you have hard water in your home, you may notice more streaks, white film, and residue on your dishes and silverware even after they have been washed. What you are seeing is the calcium and magnesium minerals that are traveling with your water. Once the water dries, these small particles of dissolved rock are left behind. The longer you wash your dishes in hard water, their surfaces will begin to appear cloudy and rough instead of the smooth and shiny pieces you fell in love with in the store. Washing them in water with a high mineral content is like sandblasting your dishes over time, dulling the finish and making them lose their luster.
You may also have noticed that when you boil hard tap water, some of the water evaporates and leaves a crusty, white ring around your pot. To make matters worse, when you try to wash away these mineral deposits, the calcium and magnesium in the water clings to your soap and coagulates it into a curd-like texture (a.k.a. soap scum) that sticks onto your dishes as well. Cleaning with hard water very quickly turns into an endless cycle that takes a toll on everything it touches.
A water softener takes those hard minerals out for you, so you have less residue on your dishes and pots in the first place, plus there is less soap scum while you’re washing them. Soaps rinse away like they should and give you that spot-free shine.
By switching to soft water, you can avoid the frustration of rewashing your dishes or scrubbing stubborn mineral build-up from your pots and pans and enjoy more time with friends and family.

Soft Water Saves You Money
Soft water leaves your dishes sparkling clean year after year, but did you know having softer water can also save you money? That’s because soap lathers better in soft water therefore less detergent is needed to thoroughly clean your dishes. This doesn’t just apply to your kitchen! Bath soaps and laundry detergent use could be cut in half too! Depending on how hard your water is, installing a water softener can even reduce your need for soaps and detergent by more than 50% because the minerals that hinder the cleaning products are removed from your water.

Soft Water is Easier on Your Skin
If you have hard water in your home, you may be used to wearing gloves because hand-washing the dishes always leaves your hands dry and itchy. The reason this happens is because, you guessed it, hard water. The soap scum it causes not only sucks moisture out of your skin, but also clogs pores causing irritation. Plus, remember that “sand blasting” that happens to your glassware from the minerals? The same thing is happening to your skin. The calcium and magnesium is abrasive on all surfaces, especially ones as delicate as your skin. With soft water, you will use less soap and it will wash away more easily leaving your skin clean and residue free.

Fixtures Stay Cleaner Longer
Have you ever noticed a crusty, white or gray buildup around your kitchen and bathroom faucets? You clean it time after time, but it continues to reappear! If you have hard water, it’s likely you are experiencing scale build-up. Routine cleaning with household products will help remove the signs of hard water but it doesn’t address the underlying problem of all the minerals in your water that will continue to deposit around your house. A water softener will remove the minerals from your water resulting in less scrubbing of scale-buildup around your kitchen sink and shower heads.

Other Hard Water Problems
If you have experienced these water-related problems, you may have noticed other issues relating to poor water quality. Hard water can have negative effects on your skin, hair, laundry, and the efficiency of your appliances. If you have noticed scale buildup on the outside of your fixtures, you can imagine how hard water has also built up inside your plumbing and everything it flows though. Coffee pots, humidifiers, washing machines, and dishwashers all have components inside that these mineral deposits can cause damage to and reduce the lifespan of the products.
With the holiday season just around the corner, there’s no better time to make the investment of soft water in your home. You can solve all your hard water headaches with a worry-free water softener. Our CareSoft series softeners will efficiently remove the calcium and magnesium minerals in your water. Available as a CareSoft Elite, CareSoft Pro, or the regular CareSoft Model, we have the perfect fit for your needs.
Contact your local WaterCare Dealer today to learn more about how they can help you get the quality water you deserve.