How Poor Water Quality Affects Skin Health
The United States has undergone all manners of environmental troubles in recent years. One of the biggest crises is water quality. There are tons of ways that water can become polluted. Something to watch out for in your home is a phenomenon called hard water. It can negatively impact the body. We’ll discuss how poor water quality affects skin health in more depth. However, we must first define what hard water is.
What Is Hard Water?
We define hot water as water with a high mineral content, usually magnesium or calcium. It forms when water flows through limestone, chalk, or gypsum into our water supply. You can tell your water is hard because it leaves residue in your cup, sink, or around your shower head. It also has many adverse effects that water softener companies strive to fix.
The Effects of Hardwater on Skin
Hard water has many long- and short-term effects on skin health. The most common effect is skin dryness. When it makes contact with your skin, many of the minerals within hard water get left behind and can absorb the natural oils there. This leads to skin dryness that can, in turn, throw off your pH balance, leading to breakouts. Hard water can also make your scalp itch, which is one of the many ways poor water quality affects skin health. Long-term effects include pronounced fine lines and wrinkles. If you have eczema or psoriasis, using hard water could worsen those conditions.
Preventative Measures
How can you prevent hard water from negatively impacting you? Here are a few methods:
- Buy a water softener filter: Water softeners are whole house filtration systems that remove minerals from your water through ion exchange.
- Use vinegar: Calcium is a prevalent mineral in hard water. It’s highly reactive to acids like vinegar. If you’re looking to remove the residue that hard water leaves behind, soak the offending part in vinegar to clear off grime in no time.
- Lower your water temperature: Running hot water through the water heater contributes to hard water stains and mineral accumulation. You’ll want to flush your heater repeatedly by running cold water to keep sediment from building up.
- Use appliance cleaners: These take care of any pesky stains your hard water may leave behind.
In short, it’s important to understand how hard water has such a negative impact on skin health and how you can avoid it in your water. Hard water isn’t a complicated problem. Yet, it’s one that’s easy to fix by using the tips in this article. If you’re looking for water softener companies in San Antonio to help get rid of hard water, contact Alamo Water Softeners today.
