In some areas of the country, hard water is still something that has to be dealt with. Caused by excessive calcium, magnesium, and other minerals in the water supply, it can make your skin and hair dry and make your laundry look dingy and feel stiff. Luckily, there are some things you can do to make life a little easier when you've got hard water; check out the tips below.

Use Water Softening Tablets

Instead of suffering with yellowing or greying clothes that are dingy as a result of repeated exposure to excessive minerals, use commercial water softening tablets whenever you do laundry. If you don't have water softening tablets on hand, you can pour a little apple cider vinegar into the washer as it's filling with water. The acetic acid in the vinegar will cut through that buildup and help the laundry rinse clean.

Take Quick Showers

To cut down on the amount of time that the minerals in your hard water spend on your body, cut down your time in the shower. By avoiding long showers, you may find that your skin isn't as dry as it would be otherwise, simply because your body wasn't exposed to those minerals for as long.

Wash Sensitive Areas with Bottled Purified Water

If your face and other sensitive areas are starting to develop dry patches, you might be able to repair your skin by sticking with bottled purified water when you wash those areas. Over time, you should see a difference as the skin is no longer exposed to the minerals.

Soak That Shower Head

As a result of mineral deposits on the shower head, you might start to notice that the water pressure in the shower is not as strong as it once was. This is easily fixed by soaking the shower head while you're sleeping. Just unscrew the part and pop it into a bucket that has equal parts of white vinegar and water inside it. Leave it there when you're ready to go to bed, and take it out of the bucket when you wake up in the morning. You should find that most of the buildup has come off by itself, but you can use one of your old toothbrushes to brush away additional debris. When you put the shower head back on, you should feel an improvement in pressure.

To reduce the effects of hard water inside your home, consult a water services company like Ecowater Systems. They will be able to make an assessment and if necessary, install a filtration system that will remove some of the mineral buildup in your water. They may also have additional ideas for you to use.