The last thing anyone needs is to deal with dirty laundry and the impossible-to-remove stains caused by mineral buildups on utensils and in baths. Hard water is a common, annoying problem that most people in the world have to deal with. While you can get a water softener or scale prevention system, you might not have enough time to do so immediately. Hence, here are some common hacks and tips to help you through your hard water crisis. These hard water cleaning hacks will allow you to make your home presentable quickly.
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1. Vinegar to Remove Stains
Keeping glassware and silverware spot and stain-free can feel like a struggle, especially if it is expensive and needs to be laid out on every holiday when guests and family arrive. To keep your dishes looking new, despite the hard water supply in your home, simply take warm water, soap, and half a cup of vinegar and mix it in a big bowl.
Soap and water are great for loosening stains, while vinegar helps get rid of stubborn mineral deposits from the hard water. It also cleans tough stains, like coffee and lipstick, within seconds. Who thought dishwashing could take much less time?
2. Water Conditioner for Laundry
The worst part about dealing with hard water is the effect it has on your laundry. When you wash clothes with hard water, they become stiff. You might even notice yellowing patches on your clothes that were not there before. While this is an annoying problem, you do not have to worry. All you need to do is incorporate a water conditioner into your next load of laundry and wait for it to work its magic.
The water conditioner strengthens the power of the laundry detergent, allowing it to get rid of harsh chemicals and minerals present in hard water. It also keeps detergent residue at bay. Detergent residue is also responsible for causing stiffness in your clothing.
3. Baking Soda Works Wonders
If you do not have baking soda lying around in your house, what are you doing? Baking soda, as the name might suggest, is used in baking. However, it also has a number of other uses! It can be used to get rid of stubborn mineral buildup and grime in toilet bowls.
All you have to do is pour a cup of vinegar into the toilet. Wait for a minute or two before adding a cup of baking soda inside the bowl. Follow up with one more cup of vinegar. Let the mixture stay inside the toilet bowl for ten to fifteen minutes before giving the bowl a good cleaning with a bowl brush. Within minutes, you will start to notice a sparkling clean toilet bowl with no sign of any mineral stains.
4. Say Hello to Shiny Faucets and Showerheads
The best part about renovating bathrooms is shiny, silver accessories. These include the faucets and showerheads that allow light to gleam- that’s how shiny they are! However, it is not unnatural for bathroom accessories to rust over time. They tend to lose their shine, especially if you are using hard water at your home.
To fix this problem, all you have to do is take a plastic freezer bag and fill it with hot water and vinegar. Put the bag on top of the faucet or showerhead, making sure that it does not fall off. You can do this by securing the bag on the faucet’s surface with a rubber band. Allow yourself to go on with your daily activities.
After two to three hours, come back to your bathroom and get rid of the freezer bag. Voila! You will see a shiny surface that looks new. Magical, isn’t it? The solution in the freezer bag gets rid of the mineral deposit that hard water tends to leave behind on the tiny holes of showerheads and faucets. While vinegar and hot water will leave stainless steel and ceramic fixtures as good as new, if you find that your bathroom accessories have an enormous amount of buildup, you can use vinegar without diluting it.
Surprised? Don’t be! Who knew that dealing with hard water could be this simple? While time-consuming, these last-minute emergency hacks will allow you to host your family and friends without feeling any sort of embarrassment.
Before trying these hacks, start with one material in your kitchen, bathroom, or laundry. If you find that the mineral deposits are cleared away, carry on!
