Supervisor Richard Byland walks out over a backwash clarifier at Pflugerville Water Treatment in 2023. Some areas of Central Texas have hard water; the rest have moderately hard water. Pflugerville is in the moderately hard category. The hardness of water is about the minerals in the water.
Aaron E. Martinez / American-Statesman
Does your skin feel dry or irritated? Does your hair have buildup or feel brittle? It could be your water.
Central Texas has pockets of hard water and very hard water, according to WaterHardness.org, which uses the most recent water quality reports from water utilities such as Austin Water and data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Kyle has the hardest water of any Central Texas city, followed by Round Rock, Hutto, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Taylor and Liberty Hill. The rest of the area has moderately hard water. The Austin area is nothing compared to Johnson City and Fredericksburg, which have water that is more than five times as hard as any of the cities in Travis, Williamson, Bastrop or Hays counties.
Water in Central Texas and areas to the west, south and north is filtered through a shelf of limestone. That limestone is made of calcium carbonate, which gives water its “hardness” along with magnesium. Hardness means the water has more of these minerals than other water sources. It does not make the water less safe to drink.
Some studies point to a possible reduction in cardiovascular disease and certain cancers in areas with hard water. However, the calcium also might increase the risk of kidney stones.
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Inside homes, hard water can cause buildup of these minerals in pipes, which could lead to plumbing problems over time. It also can make it difficult for soaps such as laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid and dishwasher detergent to produce suds, leaving a residue on clothes or dishes. It also can leave a white residue on showers and bathtubs.
What does hard water do to skin?
When hard water mixes with the soap or body wash you use, it leaves a residue. That can make your skin drier and feel tighter, said Dr. Eliana Zamora of U.S. Dermatology Partners in Georgetown and Cedar Park. For people with skin conditions such as eczema, it can aggravate those conditions.
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Owner and stylist Hajer Cellura styles Caribe Browne’s hair in Cedar Park. Areas of surrounding Austin, such as Cedar Park, have harder water than Austin.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
What does hard water do to hair?
The minerals build up on the hair shaft and scalp. They can make hair feel rough or look dull. Hard water also can make hair drier, more tangled and harder to manage, Zamora said.
Hard water also can cause inflammation of the scalp and worsen problems such as dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis, a chronic condition similar to eczema.
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Does hard water damage fingernails?
There isn’t a lot of research on that, Zamora said, but in general it’s difficult for minerals to penetrate the hard nail layers to cause the kind of damage seen in skin and hair.
How can you lessen the effects of hard water?
You could invest in a whole-home water softener to remove minerals. Those cost an average of $1,472 to install in the Austin area, according to Angi, the consumer home repair site.
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You also could add water filters to sinks or change shower heads with ones that filter out the minerals. Those filters cost about $30 to $40 per faucet or shower head.
How can you treat skin affected by hard water?
Zamora recommends people take 10-minute showers and avoid very hot water. You also do not need to use soap everywhere. Focus on the stinky areas such as armpits and the groin.
People should pat their skin dry and then apply a cream-based moisturizer (in a tub) rather than a lotion. If they use topical eczema medication, they should apply that before the moisturizer. Moisturizer should be used daily and can be reapplied throughout the day.
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How can you treat hair damaged by hard water?
Some special shampoos have chelating components such as tetrasodium EDTA and disodium EDTA. These components grab the minerals from the hair shaft and remove them.
However, these chemicals also can grab things you might not want to remove, such as hair dye.
These shampoos should be used once a week at most to avoid drying the hair further, Zamora said.
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Like lotion for the skin, conditioner or leave-in conditioner also can help lessen hair problems caused by hard water.
What if it’s not hard water?
There are many skin or hair issues that someone can think are because of hard water that are actually medical conditions that need to be professionally treated. If after using lotion and conditioner your skin or hair doesn’t improve, see a dermatologist for an assessment and treatment options.
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