Best water softener pros near Belgrade, MN

Yes, you can have both a water softener and a water filter. In fact, some manufacturers sell dual water softening and filtration systems that treat hard water and provide clean drinking water. If you’re unsure about what you need or want to discuss your options, reach out to a local water softener installation company.

Hard water is not considered unhealthy and is safe to drink, cook with, and bathe in. It doesn't pose a risk to your physical health and can even help you get enough essential minerals like calcium in your diet. However, it can negatively affect skin and hair. Using hard water for washing can contribute to dry skin, an itchy scalp, and may worsen conditions like eczema by altering the pH balance. Additionally, some people do not like the taste of hard water.

The most accurate way to determine whether you have hard water is to purchase a water test kit from a hardware store or send a tap water sample to a lab. But there are some signs you can look out for without professional testing. For instance, if you're consistently dealing with mineral stains on your glassware, windows, and shower doors, you're likely to have hard water. Hard water can also make it harder to lather and rinse soap, so if you're struggling to work up a good lather in the shower, hard water might be the culprit.

Some shower water softeners are effective, but this isn’t always the case. Most shower filters only filter out chlorine, not hard minerals like calcium. Other shower filters can't handle the demand in homes with very hard water. It's also important to change the filters on your shower filters. Failure to regularly swap out old filters will make the filter ineffective over time.