If you live in an area where there are high levels of minerals in the soil, these minerals can make their way into the local water supply, giving you hard water in your house. While these minerals do not make your water bad to drink, there are a couple of problems that excessive levels can cause 

1. Makes Both Fixtures and Skin Harder to Clean

One problem that hard water causes in your home is that it makes things more difficult to clean. You probably face this when you rinse off a glass only to find spots on the surface when it dries.

However, the major issues arise when the minerals in the water coat your plumbing fixtures and your skin. On the fixtures like your shower head and kitchen faucet, the lime deposits dry and harden to create limescale.

These coatings not only make the fixtures appear dirty all of the time, but they can also clog up the holes. This decreases the streams of water and requires special mineral removers to open up the holes.

As far as your skin, the minerals will accumulate after the water has evaporated. Not only does this lead to flakes, but the leftover mineral residue can cause redness and itchiness. 

2. Leads to Clogged Pipes and in Your Home

Difficulty cleaning glasses, fixtures, and your skin is not the only issue caused by high mineral levels in your water. When you have hard water in your home, it can eventually cause clogs in its pipes.

As time passes and the hard water flows through your home's plumbing, the minerals contained therein start to cling to the sides. The minerals then attract more minerals, causing them to thicken.

As the mineral deposits thicken, they narrow the pipes, creating a smaller passageway through which the water can flow. Eventually, the smaller space can start to collect other debris such as food particles and toilet paper, which will cause clogs to form more frequently than if there were no deposits on the pipes.

Not only do the minerals in hard water irritate your skin, but they also make it harder to clean your plumbing fixtures as well as wreak havoc on your pipes. If you are experiencing these problems with your water supply, contact a plumber near you who offers hard water treatment services to discuss your options for removing the minerals and softening your home's water supply.