Hard Water Horror.

[Synester]

So I just got a new apartment. (yay me) BUT Of course there's a catch. There is always a catch. Older place everything seemingly fine on a lake in central florida.
My hair has gotten so dry...and frizzy and my awful tangles are coming back but I haven't changed my regimen or products.
So I left a cup out with water...and let it evaporate.
Tons of white mineral residue was left. Putting two and two together the water here must be VERY hard and its causing my hair to freak out.

Long hair pals! how do you deal with hard water in your homes/apartments???
Are there any products that can help with the hard water. Any shower head filters I can use???
how have you combated your hard water for your hair and skin (my skin is drying out like crazy too)
I am desperate I just got my hair under control and its growing and now its being awful and breaking its been so dry. my scalp is way itchier than its ever been as well.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

The last house we lived in had very hard water, so after every wash, after I rinsed out my conditioner, I would fill a large bottle with water and add about a tablespoonful of vinegar, and poured it through my hair, then a very brief final rinse. That helped a lot.

[renia22]

I like chelating shampoos (Paul Mitchell shampoo 3 is my favorite), and also what Sarahlabyrinth says she does in the previous post, only with lemon juice.

[Synester]

Would ACV shampoo and Con help as well? i know they make them. but yeah i am going to need to do vinegar rinses because this water is VERY hard. Ive never had water this hard before. Where it affected my hair and skin this way...most if not all of florida is on the harder side. i only lived in one house with super soft water and it was because they had a salt pump that fixed their water.

[pili]

I've lived in Orlando. The water there fried my hair. good luck.

[Synester]

Yep I live in orlando...the past few places ive lived weren't so bad. Hard but nothing like this...this is really awful lol.
There has to be a solution.

[lithostoic]

I live in south Florida and we have VERY hard water. Can't drink water from the tap, tastes like a mouthful of coins. We use a showerhead filter and it's made a huge difference. I can shower every day now without my skin peeling off.

[Synester]

I live in south Florida and we have VERY hard water.
I feel you! I was born and raised in CutlerBay Florida! super super south. Also never had too much issue. water was hard but i never needed a filter...now I think i need a filter. Is there any you recommend? brand wise.
I have a dual shower head...one comes off the hose and the other is stationary. Wonder how i could work around that.

[littlestarface]

I live in south Florida and we have VERY hard water. Can't drink water from the tap, tastes like a mouthful of coins. We use a showerhead filter and it's made a huge difference. I can shower every day now without my skin peeling off.

Here in my part of california we have very hard water too and we can't drink the water either and yes it does tastes like coins. I never could place that taste I always just said metal but yea thanks. We have to get those huge water jugs to drink water, it sucks cuz i want free drinking water./

[Synester]

We have to get those huge water jugs to drink water, it sucks cuz i want free drinking water./

I have to get those big 5 gallon jugs too! water is included in my apartment so at least im not paying for it...because there's no way i could drink it. unless i got a sink filter but even then i know its not filtering everything. The next place i live i am buying a house instead of renting and installing a water softening machine like the house i had as a kid had....best water ever. softest hair and skin. i miss it.

[harpgal]

I live on the Gulf coast of Florida and you are right, the water is very hard. I use what is called a Water Stick. It hangs from the shower pipe and is in essence a water softener. You load it with saltwater and it does soften the water. If you do a search, I think you can find their website. I would highly recommend it. When I lived in Bozeman, Montana, I used to rinse with distilled water and that helped, also.

[MusicalSpoons]

Water sticks are the only shower filter to actually soften the water, as far as I know. (Shame they're not over here!) The others only really neutralise chlorine or chloramine, whichever one is in that particular water, but that has helped my skin at least. I'm sorry to hear you're having such problems from the water though; ours is very hard but otherwise decent quality so I can only try to imagine how frustrating it must be to have actually bad water :-(

[littlestarface]

Water sticks are the only shower filter to actually soften the water, as far as I know. (Shame they're not over here!) The others only really neutralise chlorine or chloramine, whichever one is in that particular water, but that has helped my skin at least. I'm sorry to hear you're having such problems from the water though; ours is very hard but otherwise decent quality so I can only try to imagine how frustrating it must be to have actually bad water :-(

When I was in the UK for a couple of visits I could actually drink from the tap.

[MusicalSpoons]

When I was in the UK for a couple of visits I could actually drink from the tap.

Yup. I've only ever heard of one European experience when someone's tap water was undrinkable, but it seems an accepted occurrence in the US :confused:

[Spikey]

Yup. I've only ever heard of one European experience when someone's tap water was undrinkable, but it seems an accepted occurrence in the US :confused:

It really depends where you live. Tap water in the U.S. is all very highly regulated, much more so than our bottled water (ironically). Safety is higher up on the priority list than taste or hardness though, so even though it's very safe to drink it's not always pleasant to do so.

The closer you are to your water source the better your tap water tastes. San Francisco for instance, has hands down the best tap water I've ever tasted, very clean and almost sweet, while the tap water in Los Angeles tastes like dissloved cement. Both are from the exact same source, LA water just travels hundreds more miles via pipes.

[spidermom]

A tablespoon of vinegar more or less in a pitcher of water helps a lot. There is also a hard water anti-residue shampoo and conditioner that you can buy.

[milosmomma]

100% seconding an acv rinse. I just recently found out my hair needs one every few weeks at the very least or my hair acts up big time.

[Deborah]

My water is very hard too. I put a teaspoon or two of citric acid powder in a 50 ounce bottle, add a little hot tap water, shake it like crazy, then fill it up with cold water and shake the heck out of it again. After washing and rinsing completely, I pour the whole bottle over my hair and DON'T rinse again at all. This helps a lot and leaves my hair looking and feeling very nice.

[Longlegs]

Malibu make a crystal gel treatment for hard water deposits that have formed in your hair. They also make a shampoo and conditioner.

[Wusel]

Wow.... interesting and a bit scary to read... here in Germany we have a law for it. Our water has to be filtered and softened so we can drink from the tap. It's clear and when you let it evaporate there is nothing...

[Longlegs]

Wow.... interesting and a bit scary to read... here in Germany we have a law for it. Our water has to be filtered and softened so we can drink from the tap. It's clear and when you let it evaporate there is nothing...
Wow! you are so lucky.

[Wusel]

Wow! you are so lucky.

Yes... I see it now... The tap water also tastes very good. I don't need to buy water at all unless I want it to be sparkling. But we have machines for it. You put tap water in and sparkling comes out. Very common here. Nobody (only 'posh' people with too much money) buy bottled water to drink.

[TatsuOni]

I do an ACV rinse after every wash. This prevents minerals from building up as quickly, but not completely and it also can't remove mineral build up that's "already there".

So whenever my ends are starting to fell dry and rough I mix 1 tablespoon of citric acid in 1 liter of warm water (and a bit of honey to moisturize the hair). Drench my hair in it. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes, rinse and then I use my deep conditioner and wash my hair as usual. My hair always feels amazing afterwards :)

But I've ordered a chelating chrystal rinse from NightBlooming that I'm looking forward to try :)

And for my skin, I use ACV on a cotton pad to "spread" it on my skin. I also use oils.

[MusicalSpoons]

It really depends where you live. Tap water in the U.S. is all very highly regulated, much more so than our bottled water (ironically). Safety is higher up on the priority list than taste or hardness though, so even though it's very safe to drink it's not always pleasant to do so.

The closer you are to your water source the better your tap water tastes. San Francisco for instance, has hands down the best tap water I've ever tasted, very clean and almost sweet, while the tap water in Los Angeles tastes like dissloved cement. Both are from the exact same source, LA water just travels hundreds more miles via pipes.

That's so weird. I'd have thought health kind of came under safety too (if it's terrible for your skin, it's not healthy) but it is what it is :shrug:


Wow.... interesting and a bit scary to read... here in Germany we have a law for it. Our water has to be filtered and softened so we can drink from the tap. It's clear and when you let it evaporate there is nothing...

Oh, that explains why my German friend only drinks bottled water over here then :laugh: I knew Germany had the best water quality in Europe, possibly the world, but didn't know it was *so* different from over here. I mean, it's totally safe and mostly tastes fine, but coming from such soft water I can totally understand why he couldn't get used to it. [In fairness I dislike the taste of water in the town where he was living too; I don't know how it tastes where he lives now.]

[littlestarface]

Wow.... interesting and a bit scary to read... here in Germany we have a law for it. Our water has to be filtered and softened so we can drink from the tap. It's clear and when you let it evaporate there is nothing...

Your so lucky wusel, my tap water here is yellowy orange all the time.

[Wusel]

Oh, that explains why my German friend only drinks bottled water over here then :laugh: I knew Germany had the best water quality in Europe, possibly the world, but didn't know it was *so* different from over here. I mean, it's totally safe and mostly tastes fine, but coming from such soft water I can totally understand why he couldn't get used to it. [In fairness I dislike the taste of water in the town where he was living too; I don't know how it tastes where he lives now.]

I couldn't drink the tap water in Wales. It tasted really bad to me and I had to buy bottled water all the time I was there.

[Wusel]

Your so lucky wusel, my tap water here is yellowy orange all the time.

OMG... that's terrible... almost unbelievable...
And I'm even the luckiest of all Germans because my city, Bremen, has the cleanest and softest water in Germany...

[Garnetgem]

I couldn't drink the tap water in Wales. It tasted really bad to me and I had to buy bottled water all the time I was there.

I agree our Water in Wales tastes just awful very bitter,we have to buy bottled water to drink and boil our veg in for years now,our pets used to throw up after drinking it too that's how bad it is,i wash my hair in it though but need to clarify quite often as it builds up fast.

[sumidha]

I do a citric acid rinse every time I wash my hair.

Another one with metallic funky well water who has to buy drinking/cooking water. :waving:

[littlestarface]

I do a citric acid rinse every time I wash my hair.

Another one with metallic funky well water who has to buy drinking/cooking water. :waving:

Hey neighbor! :waving:

[Angela the Mer]

Our water isn't safe to drink either, but to be honest, I've never considered what it does to my hair ... huh ... :shrug:

[lapushka]

Yup. I've only ever heard of one European experience when someone's tap water was undrinkable, but it seems an accepted occurrence in the US :confused:

Our water (Belgium) is drinkable. And I have hard water (white residue on the taps & in the toilet if you're not careful and clean it enough). We have a special cleaner called "Cif", which is a scrubber to get the gunk out of esp. toilets. But if there is white residue on the taps, the best you can do is put vinegar on there. Cleans it right off.

Which brings me to vinegar & vinegar rinses. Might be worth considering!

[MusicalSpoons]

I couldn't drink the tap water in Wales. It tasted really bad to me and I had to buy bottled water all the time I was there.


I agree our Water in Wales tastes just awful very bitter,we have to buy bottled water to drink and boil our veg in for years now,our pets used to throw up after drinking it too that's how bad it is,i wash my hair in it though but need to clarify quite often as it builds up fast.

Whaaaat?! My favourite water is when we're on holiday in Wales - last time we stayed in Henrydd, near Conwy and my cup of tea was clear, no scum and no cup staining which I didn't even know was possible! We've also stayed in mid-Wales and South Wales many times and the water is generally soft or very soft, though granted it does taste different from our home, very hard water. I'm sorry your pets couldn't physically tolerate it though, that's terrible :-/ I do know tap water *has* to have some mineral hardness in it so it doesn't leach metals from the pipes; perhaps it was at least partly to do with any artificial hardening they'd maybe done to it. Still, strange.


Our water (Belgium) is drinkable. And I have hard water (white residue on the taps & in the toilet if you're not careful and clean it enough). We have a special cleaner called "Cif", which is a scrubber to get the gunk out of esp. toilets. But if there is white residue on the taps, the best you can do is put vinegar on there. Cleans it right off.

Which brings me to vinegar & vinegar rinses. Might be worth considering!

Ha, yep acid is the only thing that helps with the limescale, though to be honest we're not diligent about cleaning it off constantly because it's a losing battle even when we did try to keep up with it. We had a shower head that couldn't be cleaned thoroughly externally - I even used clingfilm (plastic wrap) to hold a couple of half-juiced lemons on the outer surface, but it still wasn't budging. The only thing that worked was soaking it in orange juice, which then happily cleaned the bathtub when I poured it away. The main thing about Cif is the abrasive action, and being milder than the DIY alternative bicarbonate of soda, but it doesn't shift stubborn stuff*. Acid really is the way to go :)

*I'm aware that if we used it to prevent buildup of limescale it probably would work, but budget-range orange juice for infrequent deep cleaning is so much cheaper and much less effort required. Actually so would be making citric acid from powder.

[lapushka]

Whaaaat?! My favourite water is when we're on holiday in Wales - last time we stayed in Henrydd, near Conwy and my cup of tea was clear, no scum and no cup staining which I didn't even know was possible! We've also stayed in mid-Wales and South Wales many times and the water is generally soft or very soft, though granted it does taste different from our home, very hard water. I'm sorry your pets couldn't physically tolerate it though, that's terrible :-/ I do know tap water *has* to have some mineral hardness in it so it doesn't leach metals from the pipes; perhaps it was at least partly to do with any artificial hardening they'd maybe done to it. Still, strange.



Ha, yep acid is the only thing that helps with the limescale, though to be honest we're not diligent about cleaning it off constantly because it's a losing battle even when we did try to keep up with it. We had a shower head that couldn't be cleaned thoroughly externally - I even used clingfilm (plastic wrap) to hold a couple of half-juiced lemons on the outer surface, but it still wasn't budging. The only thing that worked was soaking it in orange juice, which then happily cleaned the bathtub when I poured it away. The main thing about Cif is the abrasive action, and being milder than the DIY alternative bicarbonate of soda, but it doesn't shift stubborn stuff*. Acid really is the way to go :)

*I'm aware that if we used it to prevent buildup of limescale it probably would work, but budget-range orange juice for infrequent deep cleaning is so much cheaper and much less effort required. Actually so would be making citric acid from powder.

You're right about that! You need to be using it diligently! But it's a great preventative tool. Mom cleans the toilets (entire bowl with a scouring sponge + Cif) weekly and that's enough. In between she puts a little bit of bleach in there. Works like a charm.

Sometimes we have to clean the coffee maker with a vinegar rinse cycle (half water half vinegar) and then run it with plain water a couple times more. You can literally hear it when it needs to be done.

[Wusel]

Whaaaat?! My favourite water is when we're on holiday in Wales - last time we stayed in Henrydd, near Conwy and my cup of tea was clear, no scum and no cup staining which I didn't even know was possible! We've also stayed in mid-Wales and South Wales many times and the water is generally soft or very soft, though granted it does taste different from our home, very hard water. I'm sorry your pets couldn't physically tolerate it though, that's terrible :-/ I do know tap water *has* to have some mineral hardness in it so it doesn't leach metals from the pipes; perhaps it was at least partly to do with any artificial hardening they'd maybe done to it. Still, strange.



I was in Swansea. The water didn't taste good and my hair felt strange.

[Wusel]

I never drink enough. But since I started following this thread I ran like 15 times to my tap for a glass of water. LOL!

[LoveSnap]

Nothing like the words "hard water" to draw the Floridians out. I live a bit north of you in Volusia County. lol. I saw Youtuber Willonawhim raving about this shower head (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L94O060/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=7657-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01L94O060&linkId=f1097a48485fd42574fe56b48c9f8fd4) in one of his videos. It says it's unavailable but you can find similar models also on Amazon. It might be worth a try.

[Synester]

loving all these replies. i just bought a shower filter attachment...dont think its a stick though...hope it works :(
Got it from homedepot it was the only one they had.

[Krystel1]

Is this a city water thing because I live in Central Florida too but I have well water and while it is hard it tastes fine. I do have a water softner (that we have to replace every 5 years or so) so maybe that helps.

[Synester]

Is this a city water thing because I live in Central Florida too but I have well water and while it is hard it tastes fine. I do have a water softner (that we have to replace every 5 years or so) so maybe that helps.

i live fairly close to the winterpark area. denser residential city area. not too far from downtown. Im assuming this is a city thing. but idk if the same goes for the Mt dora or clermont area which is much more outskirts and on the more Rural side.

[sumidha]

Hey neighbor! :waving:

Someday we're going to have to have a mini meet up. :laugh:

[littlestarface]

Someday we're going to have to have a mini meet up. :laugh:

Lmao! we should do it one day for sure. :deal:

[EdG]

The water company claims the tap water is safe, but it smells and tastes like chlorine. It also leaves mineral deposits on everything that hadn't been dried.

I use a water distiller (https://www.nutriteam.com/white-water-distiller-glass.html) to make drinking water. It does not make enough for hair washing. Every 1-2 months, I remove the mineral deposits using vinegar.
Ed

[Nightshade]

Another easy way to 'make' demineralized water for hair rinsing is your dehumidifier if you have one in your basement. I take that, put it through an old brita filter and it works great (Note: I'm not DRINKING it just pouring it over my hair, often with a dose of Alluvial mixed in).

[lapushka]

We have a dryer (clothes) that "produces" demineralised water. I used to do a cold rinse with it. I just have stopped doing that as it didn't make a difference. I somehow don't react well to getting the hardness of the water out (lemon/vinegar rinses). Just does nothing, or I am using too little an amount. I think I used a tablespoon to a liter.

[SurprisingWoman]

We have super hard water. We have build up on all our faucets. I buy acid and clr by the gallon.

I love the way it taste, even though it leaves a residue. I have to use something called Lemishine in the dishwasher along with the blue liquid you put in the dispenser. It is like a citric acid mix and the only way my glasses don't get scored from the calcium in the water.

I have tried doing clarifying treatments on my hair and my hair WAS NOT HAPPY. I had to work to get it happy again. I don't have visible buildup on my hair. It's shiny and soft so I just leave it alone.

https://water.usgs.gov/owq/hardness-alkalinity.html

[MusicalSpoons]

^ the alkalinity map reminds me, science-y hair blog explains that the higher the pH of water, the more buildup will be experienced. So here in the UK we can have very hard water (ours was 318mg/l CaCO3 last year, down from 324 in 2017 - hooray! :grin: I know there are lots of places with harder water, but by most definitions it is still 'very hard') but as the pH is very close to 7, it's significantly less annoying/damaging than the same hardness at (say) pH 9. http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/hard-water-and-your-hair.html

[Though it's important to note that 'alkalinity' in water is not the pH, it's the ability to resist a change in pH https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/alkalinity-and-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects So that alkalinity map refers to this, not the actual pH.]

[Synester]

so i took a water test kit test.
and then i put my filter and did another water test strip test...no difference with or without the filter according to the test so that's concerning?
https://i.postimg.cc/sv8PHWbC/61744747-453339652136111-8924095618998075392-n.jpg (https://postimg.cc/sv8PHWbC)
i would say hardness is between 100-250
but my Alkalinity being higher closer to 120 which it says is in the "ok" range.
and my Ph being closer to 8 or 9 it looks.
everything else turned up for 0 for heavy metals or chlorine which was nice. I did a Lead test too and it came up negative for lead.

[Lady Stardust]

^ the alkalinity map reminds me, science-y hair blog explains that the higher the pH of water, the more buildup will be experienced. So here in the UK we can have very hard water (ours was 318mg/l CaCO3 last year, down from 324 in 2017 - hooray! :grin: I know there are lots of places with harder water, but by most definitions it is still 'very hard') but as the pH is very close to 7, it's significantly less annoying/damaging than the same hardness at (say) pH 9. http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/hard-water-and-your-hair.html

[Though it's important to note that 'alkalinity' in water is not the pH, it's the ability to resist a change in pH https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/alkalinity-and-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects So that alkalinity map refers to this, not the actual pH.]

I’ve just looked up our water quality, 338 ppm (in 2017) and pH of 6.5 - 9.5. Drinking water is pH 3.5 - 8.5. That’s for the whole region, I know that it varies a lot even in neighbouring towns.

We had a water softener installed a few years ago. It makes a big difference but if doesn’t feel the same as naturally soft water.

[littlestarface]

Where's my irish and scottish beautiful soft sweet clean water people at? I know you guys love your perfect water. I wish I could have visited there when I went to London. I wanna wash my hair in that water at least one time :boohoo:

[Garnetgem]

Whaaaat?! My favourite water is when we're on holiday in Wales - last time we stayed in Henrydd, near Conwy and my cup of tea was clear, no scum and no cup staining which I didn't even know was possible! We've also stayed in mid-Wales and South Wales many times and the water is generally soft or very soft, though granted it does taste different from our home, very hard water. I'm sorry your pets couldn't physically tolerate it though, that's terrible :-/ I do know tap water *has* to have some mineral hardness in it so it doesn't leach metals from the pipes; perhaps it was at least partly to do with any artificial hardening they'd maybe done to it. Still, strange.

I have lived in different parts of North Wales and each time there is a difference,Anglesey being the best for water so nice tasting and crystal clear even my hair turned out very soft and fluffy! my cousin used to live down in Dorset and she said her hair used to come out stiff like a board and had a crunchy feeling something to do with clay in the water,i guess as bad as our water is its not as bad as that!