Hard water is like that friend who always borrows your shampoo and never returns it—annoying and slightly corrosive. Beyond the soap scum on your shower door, those minerals can clog your pipes and shorten the life of your appliances. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 85% of American homes have hard water. That’s a lot of cloudy ice cubes and dull laundry.
Think of calcium and magnesium as tiny, clingy dancers who refuse to leave the party. They bond with soap, creating a sticky residue that actually makes your skin feel less clean. A 2018 study in the journal Dermatitis found that hard water can exacerbate eczema—so that itch after your shower isn’t just in your head.
