If you have hard water and are considering your options, here's everything you need to know about whole-home water softeners.

and dishwashers will wear out faster in homes with hard water," Abrams says. "Scale buildup reduces the efficiency of these appliances and eventually destroys them from the inside out." ...

"To naturally minimize the effects of hard water, clean places that have scale buildup with vinegar," Hudelson says. The temperature of the water can affect hard water staining and mineral buildup.

Hard water in your home isn’t hazardous to your ... But you should note improvements right away—less scale build-up, cleaner dishes and laundry and better water pressure, to name a few.

It’s not just your hair and skin: Hard water can also lead to scale build-up in plumbing. And it can create the mineral spots you see after washing glassware. In general, it’s not ideal.

Even the best coffee makers aren't safe from hard water build-up. Those dissolved minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium, don't just leave unsightly scale on your sink and shower — they're ...

A buildup of hard water scale and rancid coffee oils in a coffee maker is to be expected. Allowing that buildup to remain (and multiply) can be very hard on the machine and make the coffee that ...