9 sure signs that you have poor water at home

In some cases, low-quality water can be identified immediately - if it is colored yellow or smells like bleach, there is no doubt that such a liquid should not be drunk. But there are also less obvious problems, such as stiffness and turbidity. Together with the national project "" we figured out by what signs it is possible to understand that something is wrong with the water.

1. The skin has become dry

If after washing your face you feel dry and tight skin, it flakes and itches, this may be due to hard water. According to the Hardness in Drinking-water / WHO WHO, it is considered this if it contains from 120 to 180 mg / l of calcium carbonate. And if it is more than 180 mg / l, the water is classified as very hard.

In moderate amounts, calcium salts are not harmful to health, but if their concentration is increased, children may develop atopic dermatitis, a systematic review, meta ‑ analysis / Wiley Online Library. Exposure to the substance is particularly harmful Association between domestic water hardness, chlorine, and atopic dermatitis risk in early life: A population-based cross-sectional study / The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology water, the risk of neurodermatitis increases to 87%. In adults, calcium salts can cause dry skin because they destroy the natural hydrolipid mantle of the epidermis.

2. Hair looks dirty after washing

Hard water reduces foaming and can therefore reduce the effectiveness of your soap or shampoo. If after showering your body feels like a film and your hair looks like straw, the problem may be in the water.

Also, when calcium carbonate and detergent interact, sediment may remain on the surface of the hair and scalp. It prevents moisturizers from being absorbed properly - hence the dryness and brittleness.

3. The water seems cloudy

The water you drink and use for cooking should be clear, odorless and tasteless. But small particles of sand, pebbles, silt can make it cloudy. An increased iron or chlorine content leads to the same result.

Cloudy water is not always hazardous to health, but it's best not to risk it. Without a chemical analysis of the liquid, it is difficult to guess what substances it contains - harmful or not.

4. Whitish stains remain on the washed dishes

If there are white spots on the dishes or glasses that you removed from the dishwasher, this may indicate that the water is too hard. When the liquid is heated, magnesium and calcium salts undergo a crystallization stage and settle on surfaces.

To soften hard water, an ion exchanger is built into the dishwasher. From time to time you need to pour salt into it - but not table salt, but special salt. If not used, the exchanger will break down over time. Moreover, the harder the water in your home, the sooner this will happen.

5. You constantly descale your equipment

Your water quality is poor if you descale your appliances all the time

Plaque forms not only on the plates, but also inside the kettle, dishwasher and washing machine. If it is not removed, the equipment may fail. Scale also has a low thermal conductivity, therefore, due to plaque, the water will heat up more slowly. This will increase the stress on the corresponding parts and increase energy consumption.

At the same time, the deposits that appear in the kettle are not hazardous to health. But it is unlikely that you will be pleased to drink coffee or tea, in which the scale floats.

6. The water smells like rot

A putrid smell and an unpleasant sweetish taste are found in water with a high content of hydrogen sulfide. It is not always possible to detect it immediately - sometimes the aroma appears only when the liquid is heated. Hydrogen sulfide darkens the enamel of bathtubs and other plumbing fixtures and destroys pipes.

At home, you can test water for H₂S by pouring it into a transparent glass and leaving it in the sun. If the liquid contains gas, it will become cloudy.

7. Water tastes metallic

The metallic or bitter taste and characteristic odor of the water can be associated with an increased zinc or iron content. Corrosive deposits on metal pipes often cause this problem.

Zinc in large quantities can cause food poisoning. In addition, it interferes with the absorption of copper from food. And iron accelerates Iron in Drinking-water / WHO the growth of bacteria in waterworks and distribution systems, which can cause slimy deposits in the pipeline. The easiest way to get rid of the metallic taste of water is to boil it.

8. You can't wash your clothes properly

Your water quality is poor if your clothes are not cleaned well enough

Hard water affects the quality of your wash: we have already mentioned that calcium salts interfere with detergents from foaming properly. This can make clothes look dirty and wear out faster and make towels rough and rough. To clean things, you will have to use more powder and set the temperature higher.

Water with a high iron content is also dangerous for things. Light colored clothing and bedding can turn yellow prematurely.

9. Baking is not suitable

Minerals dissolved in hard water can affect the texture and appearance of food. For example, vegetables and meat in such a liquid do not boil well - they will have to be cooked longer than usual. And baked goods may not turn out as fluffy as intended, even if you choose the perfect ingredients - this is because calcium salts interfere with the fermentation of yeast.

The presence of chlorine may not have the best effect. It kills bacteria and helps eliminate unpleasant odors, but many foods, such as rice and noodles, lose their flavor when cooked in chlorinated water.

You will not face all of these problems if you have good water in your home. Creating conditions for providing Russians with high-quality drinking water from centralized supply sources is the task of the federal project "". Within its framework, it is planned to build and modernize more than 2, 1 thousand drinking water supply and water treatment facilities both in large cities and in small villages. This year alone, almost 300 facilities are to be commissioned. In the country as a whole, the share of residents provided with high-quality drinking water from centralized sources will increase to 86%, and the share of citizens with access to such resources will rise to almost 94%.