Much of southern Ontario has moderately hard water. It leaves more than spots on your glassware.
Hard water carries dissolved calcium and magnesium. Every time it is heated, some of that mineral comes out of solution and deposits on whatever is nearby — heating elements, valves, spray jets and hoses. Across the GTA the hardness varies by municipality, but most of it is hard enough to matter.
What you notice first
- White film or spots on glasses and cutlery that will not rinse off.
- A chalky ring inside the kettle and around the dishwasher's element.
- Detergent that does not lather in the washing machine.
- Reduced water flow at fridge dispensers and dishwasher jets.
What it costs you later
Scale insulates heating elements, so they run longer and hotter to do the same job — that is both an energy cost and an early failure. It restricts inlet valves and solenoids, which then fail to close fully and cause slow leaks. In washing machines it shortens the life of seals and hoses.
Practical defences
Use rinse aid continuously in the dishwasher, run a descaling cycle with citric acid or a proprietary cleaner every two to three months, and keep the filter clean. If your home has a softener, check the salt monthly — a softener that ran out of salt six months ago is doing nothing at all.
“Descaling is ten minutes a quarter. Replacing a scaled-up heating element is a service call.”
If your glassware has permanently etched to a cloudy finish, that is different — etching is usually caused by too much detergent in soft water, and no amount of descaling reverses it.