How Hard Water Is Damaging Your Appliances

Every month, you receive a bill from the water company for your water usage. But did you realize that the true cost of your water could be much, much greater?

In fact, depending on your water quality,the water running through your home could be costing you a fortune.

We’re referring to water that contains a high amount of mineral sediment, also known as “hard water.” Few people realize it, but hard water can be so EXPENSIVE.

So if you have hard water, here are 3 ways that it’s costing you money: 

#1 Hard Water Makes Your Appliances Less Efficient

Did you know that hard water is hard on your appliances?

It’s true.

Hard water can reduce the efficiency of your appliances by up to 48%, according to a study by the Water Quality Association (WQA). And that decrease in efficiency can lead to a 29% increase in your energy bills–costing you $1,500 or more over a 10-year period.

(And that’s just for your water heater. The same efficiency loss would affect your dishwasher and your washing machine.)

shower-head
appliances

#2 Hard Water Forces You To Waste More Soap & Detergent

When you have hard water, you have to use more soap, detergent, and other cleaning products. Over time, this can become a significant expense.

Think about how much money you spend on dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, bath & kitchen soap, lotions, and other household cleaners. Probably several hundred dollars a year, depending on the size of your family…and if you have hard water.

(That cost could be reduced by 75% or more with soft water.)

#3 Hard Water Reduces the Lifespan of Your Appliances

Hard water also causes a buildup of scale that can shorten the lifespan of your appliances by 30-50%!

In another WQA study, the heating elements inside water heaters using hard water failed after just 19 months. The water heaters using non-hard water lasted much longer—up to 15 years.

saving-money
Appliance Type
Lifespan with Soft Water
Lifespan with Hard Water
Dishwasher
10
10
Washing machine
11
7.7
Faucets
9
5.4
Toilets
6.5
2
Electric water heater
13
6.5
Gas water heater
11
5.5

How Can You Tell if You Have Hard Water?

If you suspect you have hard water, here are some of the telltale signs to watch out for:

  • Mineral buildup in sinks, bathtumbs, and on your water fixtures
  • Spots on your dishes, glasses, and silverware that don’t come out in the dishwasher
  • Water heaters that fail sooner than they should
  • Soap scum in your bathtub or on your shower curtain/shower door
  • Faded clothing (especially clothes that used to be vibrant & colorful)
  • Dry, itchy skin and limp-looking hair

Or you can always contact Culligan to schedule a free water test. One of our technicians will come to your house and test your water for hardness and other contaminants.

Find Out What's In Your Water Today

Schedule your FREE water test by simply filling out the form below or call us today to learn more about getting cleaner, stain-free water!

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What our clients say

There’s a reason Culligan of Sarasota is the best water treatment company in Southwest Florida with over 993 4.8-Stars Google Reviews.

Recently had to relocate and have my rental equipment removed due to unforeseen events. Called the office and spoke to Rhonda. She was kind, professional, explained the process, she didn’t even know I was going through anything. When I got off the phone I was smiling! Easy process all in one call because of Rhonda. it was refreshing! Love my Culligan and Rhonda’s the best! When I get back I’m calling her again!
I truly love my Culligan Water Service of Sarasota. Thank you Jared Palmer you do a wonderful job.
Culligan is the best. My delivery driver Jared P. always makes sure to place my bottles out of the weather and always makes sure my quantity is correct. Thank you!
From sales call through installation - professional, knowledgeable and courteous. Thank you Sara and YoAndri!
We have been long time Culligan users and very happy with their operation. We recently upgraded to the smart system which we can control the bypass via our cell phones. This is a game changer for us and allows is to bypass the system while watering our plants, etc. without having to manually change the bypass every-time.Megan is a wonderful customer relation specialist and we would recommend her to anyone looking to add or update their system.
Simply the best! I’ve had nothing but amazing service from. Culligan over the years… we had questions about our water system and they tested and answered just because I asked! They have delivered consistently for years and have amazing customer service… not to mention the water is great! Highly recommend!
Customer service is always wonderful both in office and our delivery driver, Jared Parmer, is amazing. He is always helpful and his kindness goes above and beyond and is truly appreciated.
Megan came out and did a very detailed analysis of our current water (Wellen Park) and clearly explained the options available. She did a “eye dropper” test and electronic water test on our supplied water and demonstrated what we could expect using a counter top mini Culligan system. As an engineer I appreciated the explanation of the various elements in water and how the system would remove them. After the installation of the system by Ryan he clearly walked me through the various elements. He was meticulous in his installation and clean up. A week later Megan came back out and tested the system performance which just as predicted in the counter top demo. Very happy with the entire process!0
The staff is super friendly and quick to respond any time I contact them. My delivery man, Jared, goes above and beyond to make sure I don’t miss my delivery ❤️
Great experience! Very kind people and service was amazing! 5 stars!!!
Such a great team, and extremely easy to work with!Haili is super helpful and responsive to all questions and concerns.Jared Parmer is the delivery technician, and is swift and on point! I highly recommend this delivery service for your water.
Absolutely incredible customer service. When time to replace the filter, their serviceman, James (totally excellent by the way), called and said he’d be right out. I’m glad I bought from Culligan…
Been enjoying our Culligan RO system for two weeks, clean taste and convenient. I do not purchase plastic gallon water jugs for my daily water or coffee anymore. Sara was wonderful to work with on the sales side and today’s water testing of the system. Water results were 221 TDS on house water and 13 TDS on the RO water with no sediment or chlorine. Looking forward to years of fine service, monitoring RO performance and usage on the app, low water waste on the RO system, and 2 years on the filters. Thanks Culligan and Sara.
We had Aqua Tech out to look at a leak in our pool pump. The service team acted quickly and had the part ordered and replaced within 2 days. Very professional and friendly. I highly recommend you consider using Aqua Tech for your pool needs.
Megan did a awesome job. She was super sweet and always went out of her way to help me out. She explained everything about the water systems and answered all my questions. So quick on the service to install and everything is working out perfectly. I recommend Megan for any of your services.
Excellent experience with Sara Ruby. Friendly and professional. Looking forward to our new system!
Jared nice guy always pleasant when dropping off water.
Corey P came high recommended in my community. I setup an appointment with him and he came the very next day. He went over my home and described all the options we had to ensure excellent quality water. Install was even faster, and was professionally completed the next morning. We also took advantage of the financing opportunity which made the system very affordable and quickly obtainable. Thank you to Corey and his team for delivering such a great product. We are looking forward to having safe clean water again!- Steve
Just like to give a shout out to Jarred. Always pleasant And respectful of people property. Outstanding attitude.🤗🤗
Ryan was a great technician. He came back and helped fixed the tankless water heater which stopped working after Culligan filters were installed.
Miles was super helpful and got our water system working properly. Highly recommend!
Tyler, the Tech who serviced our home was extremely friendly, accommodating and thorough. We hope he is our tech in the future. Culligan customer service is great.
Sara was wonderful! We understood the problems with the old and unhealthy water and now we have great tasting and healthy water. We installed a Culligan softener and filtration system (Hybrid Softner Filtration). Thank you Culligan!
Great water and services
💦 💦 💦 💦 💦 💦 💦 💦 💦 💦 💦 💦We had a Kinetico system for almost 9 years - and whenever we had an issue, it would take more than a week (sometimes TWO!) for them to come out. The last straw was when we had 3 issues in less than 2 months - so we had LOTS of time without soft water. Rather than continue to pay for a service call every couple of weeks (& deal with the same thing breaking over and over) we decided to replace the blasted thing.We researched a few companies and got recommendations from our neighbors. After a few appointments with other water companies, a little more research (& reading LOTS of positive reviews), we went with Chad McCoy and Culligan.Chad was really the selling point. He’s the real deal - genuine, no pressure and very patient and kind. He came down to show us their system (& take a look at our current situation) on a Saturday (& he even had guests that weekend). He didn’t try to upsell us (in fact he discouraged it) He showed us a quality system at a price that was less than the others. We also got a platinum service plan so we never have to deal with salt - or ANY issues - for the next 10 years!!! Even with our annual service plan for 10 years …. Culligan will still be cheaper than our worthless Kinetico system!Had my first shower with the new system Tuesday and my hair is back to being happy! Goodbye hard water, good riddance Kinetico … hellooooo Culligan! Thank you so much for wonderful service, Chad! And a special thank you to our amazing installer, Yoandri (who was ON TIME, thorough and very helpful explaining what he did). Culligan definitely gets two thumbs up from us!
Ryan from Culligan of Nokomis showed up at the right time and introduced himself to me. He promptly began the water softener exterior tank installation. He was extremely professional and friendly. He went over the entire installation process from beginning to end and answered numerous question that me and my wife had. I highly recommend Culligan!
Shoutout to Josh who did our install today. He did a wonderful job. Josh was very professional and cleaned up after himself. Already feeling the difference with the water. I had Culligan at our previous house and knew it was a must for our new build. We had to put up with Sarasota City water for 1 week and the smell, taste, and feel of the water was awful. Water is not soft and clean. The reverse osmosis water is so pure tasting. Highly recommend!!!
Jared Parmer is always friendly and efficient. He is a wonderful delivery person!
Much needed
New home with existing Culligan system. Service person came for quarterly maintenance while we were up North. Sent invoice saying system did not have power. When we arrived we noticed water was running out of the system into the yard. Called Culligan office and waited four days for tech. $588 monthly water bill and we were here for 10 days. Called to ask for assistance with paying water bill. A manager “will call us”. Waited 4 days for this call. Nothing. Called again to ask them to remove the system. $200 to remove. We waived our last quarterly maintenance.Very disappointed in the service and response from this company.Edit: We received a call from Brian the manager and he has proposed an amicable solution for our situation. We will continue to use Culligan’s service.
We had James Dolan from Culligan Water come to fix our Reverse Osmosis system and what a great job he did. He totally rebuilt the system from end to end and had it up and running in less than 20 minutes. Very detail oriented and very, very professional. Definitely will call him if we have an issue in the future.
James Dolan did a great job! Culligan is a great company
James was great getting our Culligan system connected! Super fast and inew what he was doing!
James was great. Was patient and answered all of my questions. I’m very grateful.
Culligan Water Tyler was on time and informed me of service testing.
James and Tyler provided our services today and were very willing to assist with questions or concerns.
James and Tyler came to maintenance our water system and we’re very professional and nice.
My delivery person Jared Parmer was excellent. Well informed and helpful, he brought my bottles inside (which at my age and having recent hip surgery was a godsend) and helped set up my needs for future deliveries. He also set up and thoroughly explained the system, how it works etc.,I am very happy to have Jared delivering my water, I recently moved back to Florida from MN where I had culligan for over 8 years, nice to find the same service and care I had there, down here.
Calvin is our water bottle delivery guy. He is always respectful and very friendly. I recommend all Mast family services for your home and businesses. Mast Culligan in Nokomis is 5 star all water company.
We are very satisfied with Culligan Water, We work with the Company for over 4 years, our delivery person is Jared Parmer.Jared is very professional and provides excellent service.Thank you for the Great Work!!!
Marcell was awesome in sharing information about water filtration systems. Will highly consider working with when we invest in a system.
I had the pleasure of speaking with a young lady called Gloria. She was very nice very knowledgeable. Understood exactly what I needed her to do for my account and at my age that means a lot me. She made my changes so quick and seamless, I’m gratefully Appreciative of her.
Second home experience with Sarasota Culligan water filtration system being installed. Sara our area Rep is always responsive and has the answer! The technician for the second home identified a water leak from our builder, separate from his installation. He was thorough and informative in the outdoor system. Overall, one of the best customer service experiences we have found since coming from the NJ/NY area. HIGHLY recommend!
The service tech Ross McCollumcame to work on the noisy RO. He was a delight, professional, and thoughtful. He educated me on my water system.
We are very pleased with our filtration and softener systems. We worked with Michael Brown. He is friendly, professional, efficient and honest. He helped us find a system that worked for our unique setup, gave us helpful ideas and methods that helped us get what we wanted while saving money.
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