7 Signs Your Northern California Home Has Hard Water

Hard water is one of the most common water problems in Northern California homes. It doesn't look like much. The water comes out clear, but it's carrying dissolved minerals that build up in your plumbing and appliances and can leave your skin feeling dry.

"Hard" just means the water has a lot of dissolved calcium and magnesium, picked up as it moves through rock and soil. How hard yours is depends on where it comes from. Some Bay Area cities get very soft mountain water. Many homes in the Sacramento area and the Central Valley, and a lot of homes on wells, have much harder water.

7 signs you have hard water

1. White, chalky crust on faucets, shower heads and around drains.
2. Spots or a cloudy film on glasses, even right out of the dishwasher.
3. Soap and shampoo that don't lather well, so you use more.
4. Dry, itchy skin and dull hair after a shower.
5. Towels that come out stiff and whites that slowly turn dingy.
6. Soap scum on the shower glass that's back a few days after you clean it.
7. Water pressure that drops over time as scale builds up inside pipes and fixtures.

One or two of these could have another cause. If you're seeing three or four, it's worth testing.

What it costs you

The spots on your dishes are the part you can see. The same minerals build up as scale inside your water heater, dishwasher, washing machine, coffee maker and pipes. A water heater lined with scale has to work harder to heat water. Appliances can wear out sooner, and you spend more on cleaners, soap and repairs.

How to fix it

You have two options. A water softener uses salt to pull the hardness minerals out, so you get truly soft water and that slippery feel in the shower. A salt-free conditioner leaves the minerals in the water but changes them so they're much less likely to stick as scale. It needs no salt, sends no brine down the drain and needs very little upkeep, but the water won't feel soft.

Which one makes sense depends on how hard your water is and what matters to you. That's why we test first, so you know your number before you buy anything.