Help, I have extremely hard water problems!?

Question

Its driving me crazy, I get a white filmy residue on everything. It doesn't wash off. Vinagar helps a little but not really effective. I can't afford a water softner system right now. My shower and toilets are a nightmare to clean!

Answer 1

I have extremely hard water too and finally broke down and bought a softener system. But here are some hints that I got from Mary Ellen's Home Reference Book that really helped and saved time when I was fighting the hard water battle.

Buy a box of those effervescent denture cleaner tablets and keep them in every bathroom. Now and again, toss a tablet or two into the bowl. They break down the hard water and remove the ring around the bowl.

I misted my shower enclosure daily with a spray bottle filled with straight vinegar. About every three days I would use Lime Away scale and scum remover to keep the hard water from accumulating and attracting soap scum. Once glass is etched with hard water it can never be removed, so the vinegar mist keeps it from etching.

Dishwasher hint. I ruined an entire salad dish set, set of glasses and countless glass bowls because they etched. (That is the white filmy residue that won't wash off.) Keep the dishwasher rinse aide dispenser full. Buy the liquid one for hard water etch. About once a week, run the dishwasher empty with a cup of white vinegar in the bottom and the detergent dispenser filled with baking soda. This literally cleans the dishwasher and keeps hard water from building up on the tub which attracts dirt and soap scum.

Water Heater hint. Hard water makes for a calcium residue which will accumulate in the bottom of the hot water heater and eventually cause the heating elements to fail. Moreover, hot water heaters operating with hard water don't last as long IF you do not clean them out about every 6 months. If you start hearing a popcorn popping sound when the hot water heater is operating it is time to clean it out. Connect a hose and drain the hot water heater completely. Be sure to turn off the gas or unplug it before draining. Flush out the tank and you will see all kinds of chunkies flow out of the hose. YUCK

Washing machine hint (this is from Linda Cobb's book Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean). If your clothes seem dull and gray, it is time to clean the washing machine from hard water build up. Fill the washer with hot water and add 1 quart of chlorine bleach. (No detergent). Run the washer through the longest wash cycle stop the machine before it reaches the rinse cycle. Add 1 quart of white vinegar and run it through the same cycle again allowing it to go into the rinse and spin cycles. This will clean out the soap scum and all of the mineral deposits caused by hard water from both the spin basket and all of the hoses. This should be done about every 3 months if the water is really hard or 6 months if it is a little hard.

I really sympathsize with you and find that water softener to be a real blessing cause hard water causes a lot of work.

Answer 2

On your shower and toilet use Lysol Bathroom cleaner. Using it at least once a week will help a great deal. If after taking a shower if you would wipe down the shower stall it will help. If your shower unit is fiberglass there is a boat fiberglass cleaner call gel coat that you apply and rub off with a towel. It takes away all the old white stuff and polishes the surface. After a few weeks reappy the gel coat. The toilet you could swish a brush around in it seveal times a week and that might help inbetween cleanings.

Answer 3

Probably not. Water becomes hard because of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts and therefore unless the filter is a chemical filter nothing will happen. Hard water normally does not cause skin problems. Your skin problem may be due to other factors and from your description appears related to the excessive use of soap or detergents probably associated with the the hard water (in which soap does not lather well)

Answer 4

Very Hard Water

Answer 5

lime away works really well