How Hard Water Affects Your Skin and Hair
While hard water is safe to drink, its effects are felt daily during showers and baths. The minerals in North Saint Paul's water react with soap to form a residue, often called soap scum. This film makes it difficult to get a clean rinse, leaving your skin feeling dry and itchy and your hair appearing dull and brittle. For households with sensitive skin or infants, this can exacerbate skin conditions and complicate preparing baby formula.
Filtration Guide for 7.3 GPG Water
For water at the 7.3 GPG level, a full, salt-based water softener is an option, but not always the most economical one. A whole-house softener (~$1,500 installed) would save an estimated $76 per year on energy and detergents, leading to a payback period of nearly 19.7 years.
A more cost-effective strategy for North Saint Paul is often a two-part approach:
- For Your Home: A salt-free water conditioner is highly effective at preventing scale buildup in your pipes and appliances without the use of salt or wastewater.
- For Drinking: A quality pitcher filter or an under-sink reverse osmosis (RO) system will significantly improve the taste of your water for drinking and cooking. An RO system also eliminates the average family's $600-$900 annual spend on bottled water.