{"id":668,"date":"2012-04-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/?guid=f08fa2ff2be349c40871787a75f78075"},"modified":"2012-04-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-02T00:00:00","slug":"is-your-showerhead-making-you-sick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/is-your-showerhead-making-you-sick\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your showerhead making you sick?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HIB) – Hand sanitizer, flu shots and regular exercise are just some of the ways Americans build their immunity to protect themselves from harmful bacteria and illness. But many may be missing a simple step for preventing health problems.<\/p>\n

There’s nothing like a nice hot shower to remove dirt and grime. But showerheads are moist, warm, and dark, and those that spray hard water are especially ripe for bacterial growth.<\/p>\n

In fact, newly published research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicated that showerheads that sprayed hard water had a prevalence of bacteria linked to pulmonary, or lung-related, disease. The study reported the results of showerheads analyzed across nine U.S. cities.<\/p>\n

Just as Americans take other preventative measures to protect themselves from airborne illnesses, there’s a simple way to ensure your showerhead doesn’t make you sick.<\/p>\n

Water softeners dissolve the minerals, like calcium, magnesium and iron that are normally found in hard water. Left untreated, these minerals leave a residue build-up in the showerhead, which plays host to bacteria.<\/p>\n

“Water softeners break down the minerals in the water and the accumulated minerals are flushed down the drain,” says Jerry Poe, technical director at North American Salt Company<\/a>, the producer of Nature’s Own and Sure Soft brands of water conditioning products. “Using a good water softener is an easy way to protect your family from harmful bacteria and certain potential pulmonary problems.”<\/p>\n

But the advantages of water softeners go beyond health benefits. They’re also good for homeowners watching their pocketbooks.<\/p>\n

The Water Quality Association<\/a>, in partnership with the Battelle Institute – an independent research and development organization – examined the economic impact of water softeners. The group wanted to understand the effects water softeners had on the efficiency and lifespan of water heaters.<\/p>\n

Battelle Institute researchers tested gas, electric and tankless water heaters. The results made a strong case for soft water and water softeners.<\/p>\n

The gas and electric water heaters maintained their predicted 15-year lifespan when scientists used soft water. But with hard water, the heaters showed up to a 25 percent decrease in efficiency over the lifetime of the appliance.<\/p>\n

Tankless heaters using soft water also maintained their original efficiency rating over a 15-year span. But, when the tankless appliances heated hard water, substantial mineral build-up prevented them from functioning after less than two years of equivalent water use.<\/p>\n

And, when it came to cost, researchers at the Battelle Institute found soft water delivered savings of almost 60 percent, compared with water heaters using hard water.<\/p>\n

Showerhead performance also was examined by researchers. Those spraying hard water saw a 75 percent decrease in flow rate in less than 18 months due to hard water mineral deposits. Soft water showerheads maintained their consistent flow and stream over time.<\/p>\n

“You wouldn’t think the simple act of taking a shower could play such an important role in your family’s health,” says Poe. “But if your home has hard water, using a softener can help protect your family from dangerous bacteria and potential health problems, and it can save you money and prolong your appliances’ lifespans at the same time.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(ARA) – Hand sanitizer, flu shots and regular exercise are just some of the ways Americans build their immunity to protect themselves from harmful bacteria and illness. But many may be missing a simple step for preventing health problems.<\/p>\n

There’s noth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-improvement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}