Make Household Chores Easier With Softened Water (NAPSA)—If you find yourself spending too much time on household chores and not enough time with your family, there’s a simple Household Tips: Using Soft Water To Simplify DailyLife Makeclothes last longer. Clothes tend to wear out 15 percent faster when washedin hard water. Softened water is gentler on your clothing. solution that can make yourlife easier. The answeris to use softened water. Dreary tasks such as washing dishes, doing laundry and cleaning Keep kitchenware looking new. Hard water can create unsightly film buildup on dishes and glassware. Softened water keepskitchenware sparkling like new. easier and less time-consuming with softened water—and softened Clean up with ease. Hard water can create hard filmy soap rings on bathtubs andsinks. Softened water helps keep fixtures clean and shiny. as softer skin and shinierhair. Hard water forms when natu- Ensure that appliances last longer. The American Water Works Association has found that washing machines used with hard water can wear out up to 30 percent faster than machines usedwith soft water. Softened water reduces wear and fear on your washer. up the bathroom and kitchen are water brings added benefits such rally occurring minerals enter water sources. It is also very com- mon in this country. Eighty-five percent of the U.S. geography has hard water, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. As our population grows and becomes more diverse, many homeowners may be feeling the effects of hard water without even realizingit. The naturally occurring minerals in “hard” water makeit difficult for soaps, detergents and shampoos to lather, which in turn forces you to scrub harder when cleaning your home. In fact, the term “hard water” originally referred to water that was difficult or hard to work with. Installing a water softener in your home can greatly reduce the natural hard minerals found in water. Inside the water softener, salt pellets are used to charge thousandsof tiny resin beads with sodium ions. As hard water moves over the resin beads, the minerals are replaced with sodium ions, creating soft water. While the joys of soft water greatly outweigh the mainte- Use less soap, detergent and shampoo. Hard water inhibits soaps and shampoosfrom lathering, so you may be using more soap and shampoothan necessary. Save money byusing soft water, which requires less soap to getthings clean. Enjoysofterskin. When you bathe or showerin hard water, mineral deposits areleft behind on your body, which may dry out yourskin. These minerals are removed from softened water to make your skin feel soft and smooth. Keep hair shiny and clean. Hard water mineral deposits can also leave your hair looking dull, while shampooingin softened water can reveal yourhair's natural shine. Maintain your water-softening unit. Once your watersoftener is installed, check it monthly and keep thesalt level at least half full atall times using high-quality salt product. For example, Diamond Crystal water-softening salt is packagedin convenient-to-carry, two-handled bags and includes easy instructionsin English and Spanish. @ nance of a water softener, one task most people dread is chang- ing the softener pellets as instructed by the manufacturer. Carrying bagsof salt to the water softener was a chore that hadn’t seen much improvement in a long, long time—until now. Diamond Crystal water-soften- ing salt now comes in a two-handled bag. When compared to other brands’ single rigid handle, the two-handled bag makes it easier and more comfortable to change the salt. Simple instructions are printed in English and Spanish, and the product works in any watersoftener. After all, wouldn’t you rather spend more time and energy on family fun than tiresome household tasks?
