<p>Ever notice white residue on your glasses and silverware after you’ve just had a load of dishes washed?</p> <p>This is often an indicator that you don’t have soft water. Before we start talking about the benefits of having a water softener, let’s talk about hard water. What makes water hard?</p> <p>Water comes down your tap filled with minerals (yay!); two of which are Magnesium and Calcium. These two minerals are the reason your water is hard. Although these minerals have no known health effects, they affect the efficiency of your dishwasher and other water-using appliances.</p> <p>When your water is hard, activated soap gets tied up with the hardness of the minerals in the water instead of doing its actual job: cleaning food off your plates. This leaves more food on the plates after they’ve supposedly been cleaned and leaves behind white buildup and soap residue. You could even start to notice that your plastic ladles, knife handles or spatulas are turning white.</p> <p>Not only will you have to use more soap to clean your dishes, but your dishwasher will also use up more energy as the dishwasher’s heater tries to work harder to try heat through the layer of buildup.</p> <p>As a way to increase dishwashers’ efficiency, some manufacturers make dishwashers with built-in water softeners. Since soft water is also good for your skin and leaves your shower doors free of hard water stains you may want to look at getting a whole home water softener like <a title="Kinetico. " href="https://www.trailappliances.com/brands/kinetico/">Kinetico. </a>Kinetico’s products help extend the life of your pipes, appliances, fixtures and clothing; and if your whole home is getting soft water, your dishwasher will do its job far more efficiently and effectively.</p> <p>If you need more resources on water quality and water hardness from the Government of Canada, click <a title="here." href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/guidelines-canadian-drinking-water-quality-guideline-technical-document-hardness.html#a2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a> If you’d like to learn more about Kinetico Water Systems, click <a title="here" href="https://www.trailappliances.com/brands/kinetico/">here</a>.</p> <p><img src="https://www.trailappliances.com/media/wysiwyg/blog/what-hard-water-does-to-your-dishwasher.jpg" alt=""></p><a name="quote" id="quote"></a><h2 align="center">FILL IN THE FORM TO GET A QUOTE AND BOOK A FREE IN-STORE WATER TEST!</h2>9