How to Get Soft Water in Your Shower
Do you know what kind of water is running through your pipes? Hard or soft water can make a big difference in the quality of your everyday life. So it’s essential to understand how hard, or soft, your water is before making any decisions about it.
This blog post will walk you through the steps of how to get soft water in your shower with more delicate skin! You’ll also learn some ways that you can soften hard water if it’s not coming out naturally from the faucet at home.
Why Are You Not Getting Soft Water in Your Shower?
1. Not Enough Exposure Time:
To ensure your water is hot enough, let it run on the hard plumbing surfaces for at least 15 minutes before getting in. If you need to leave the bathroom or don’t want to stand around naked, get the water running and then prepare for your shower. The water will take a few minutes to reach the desired temperature.
2. Low Water Pressure:
Your water pressure is not high enough to physically push the hard ions through the showerhead. If you use a municipal water supply, the city will have to fix your problem with water pressure.
You can check by filling up a bathtub or sink and watching how long it takes for the water level in the tub/sink to lower down to a certain level. If it takes a long time, then there is not enough municipal water pressure flowing through your home’s municipal pipes.
3. Inefficient Cartridge:
Hard water ions are large and cannot fit through the tiny holes in a carbon cartridge. Check with your manufacturer to see if they have cartridges that can provide soft water for challenging water areas.
The company should have several options available because it is rare to find a place to filter out calcium and magnesium ions.
The typical mineral filter will filter out the calcium and leave your skin feeling itchy, but not altogether remove the minerals that make your hair feel like straw or orange-ish colored hard water deposits all over your chrome fixtures.
4. Cleaning Too Often or Not At All:
If you clean your shower too often, the hard water will not have enough time to build up and be difficult to remove. On the other hand, if you don’t clean for long enough, the same problem occurs, so there’s no need for any soap scum or hard water deposits you are trying to avoid.
5. Low-Temperature Setting:
Low-temperature water will not dissolve soap for you. If you are getting soft water in the sink but not the shower, then your shower’s thermostat needs adjusting because low-temperature settings cause soaps to become ineffective.
Also, when taking a bath, set the faucet on hot at first, turn off the faucet so the water stops running, then turn on the cold until the bathwater becomes warm.
Set both knobs on hot and leave them there for several minutes when you’re ready to get out. This will allow your hard water to sit in contact with your plumbing surfaces long enough to remove all calcium and magnesium ions that would otherwise turn into soap scum and clog your showerhead/cartridge.
6. Soap Scum:
If you use soft water but notice a thin layer of smelly white film on your skin, glass shower doors, shower walls, and tubs, you most likely have too much soap residue left after each wash. Since any amount of soap scum is unsightly (and often smelly) and can be difficult to remove, you should try using less soap.
7. Locating the Problem:
Start by turning on the shower and letting it run long enough for you to get into your birthday suit. Next, watch which water outlets provide soft water, then turn off all other faucets in the house except one at a time while keeping track of which provided soft water.
Repeat this step each day until you have pinpointed which faucet in your home has hard water.
8. Buying a Softener:
If you’ve tried all the methods for softening hard water, but none have worked, then it’s time to buy a water softener from someone like Culligan. Follow the instructions given by the manufacturer, and you should be well on your way to soft water in the shower.
8 Effective Methods: How to Get Soft Water in Your Shower
Here we have discussed a few of the effective methods how for getting soft water in your shower.
1. Use a Shower Head Filter:
A Shower Head Filter will attach to any traditional showerhead. It has a two-stage filtration system that removes chlorine, sediment, minerals, and metals from the water before it enters your shower.
However, the filter does not remove beneficial minerals which are essential for healthy skin and hair. Removing the chlorine and other chemicals from your shower water will result in softer hair and skin after each use.
2. Use a Water Softener:
A water softener system will attach to any shower outlet. It reduces hard minerals in the water, allowing them to flow through the unit. Inside the filter is resin beads that act as a magnet for hard minerals like calcium and magnesium.
As these minerals build up on the resin beads, they have washed down the drain during the unit’s regeneration. As a result, your skin and hair will be left feeling softer after each shower.
3. Install an Indirect Water Heater:
An indirect water heater is different than a traditional tank-style water heater. An indirect water heater is connected to the cold water line coming into your home. Inside the unit are heating elements that heat the running tap water. The heat is transferred to the water through copper tubing.
The direct benefit of an indirect water heater is that it will deliver warm and hot water to your shower with no wait time. This reduces or eliminates lukewarm showers, which can also be caused by a faulty tank-style heater that has not reached its proper temperature.
4. Install a Dual Temperature Water Heater:
A dual-temperature water heater provides two hot water temperatures to your home; the benefit is the same as an indirect water heater. The unit will deliver warm and hot water to your shower or faucet without waiting.
This again helps you on how to get soft water in your shower by reducing or eliminating lukewarm showers due to a faulty tank-style water heater.
5. Assess Your Home’s Water Type:
Water in certain parts of the country is known to be more complicated than in others. You can find out what type your waterfalls are into by picking up a water quality test kit at any hardware store.
The test will have you collect tap water samples from various points in your home or business, then send them back to the company for analysis. A report will be sent back to you listing your water quality type and the recommended methods of softening your water.
6. Make Your Filter with Charcoal:
Charcoal acts as a natural water filter. As a result, it can absorb contaminants in the water. For example, if you have healthy water and are concerned about harmful bacteria, viruses, or chemicals in your tap water, adding charcoal will remove many of these harmful contaminants.
Use enough charcoal to fill your shower head, and leave it in place for 24 hours before using your shower. It may be necessary to repeat this process before the water feels completely soft.
7. Add Vinegar to Your Shower:
Adding white vinegar to your shower can also help soften the water because it absorbs minerals in the water. The acidic nature of white vinegar helps remove these hard minerals, which will leave your skin and hair feeling softer than before.
Fill a plastic bag with 4-5 cups of vinegar and tie it around your shower head. Leave it there for about an hour before using your shower, and make sure to use a backflow preventer if the showerhead is on a flexible hose.
8. Adjust Your Shower Head:
By adjusting the angle of your shower head, you can increase the force of the water hitting your skin and hair. This will allow you to use less soap and shampoo because more dirt and oil from your body will be removed with each rinse. It also increases the speed with hard minerals rinsing off, which means softer water.
Do Shower Filters Soften Water?
Shower filters soften water by taking out things from the water before it gets to your shower head. Some of these impurities/chemicals include chlorine, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, and magnesium.
However, the biggest problem with hard water is that it poses a challenge for cleaning soap scum off of shower doors and glass blocks because the scum won’t go away.
The scum sticks to the surface and becomes impossible to remove unless you use something like vinegar or CLR (Calcium Lime Rust). Showerhead filters work to take out these impurities/chemicals, which leaves soft water for your shower.
Soft water is much better for your hair and skin. It allows the pH balance to be correct and won’t dry out your skin like hard water can. On top of that, your body will release natural oils (that it would generally absorb) into the water at a much higher rate.
We also have some practical methods for getting soft water in your shower. So be sure to check that out also.
Conclusion:
Soft water in your shower can be achieved with a few simple steps. You’ll want to start by checking out our blog for more information on how to get soft water in your shower, and then you’re ready to act! Now that you know what it takes, all that remains is picking up the phone or sending an email.
We’d love to help ensure you have clean, safe bathwater without pesky hard minerals getting in the way! So get started today; let us know if we can answer any questions or provide additional assistance.
Angela Ervin
Angela is the executive editor of DIY quickly. She began her career as an interior designer before applying her strategic and creative passion to lifestyle and home. She has close to 15 years of experience in creative writing and online content strategy for housekeeping, home decorations as well as other niche efforts. She loves her job and has the privilege of working with an extraordinary team. She lives with her husband, two sons, and daughter in Petersburg. When she's not busy working she spent time with her family.
