If the staining on your light colored fabric is the dull grey or dingy discoloration and stiffness that occurs with calcium deposits you do have a chance of saving some of your clothing.
Hard water stains on laundry.
Before you assume your white clothes are ruined realize these stains can be removed with basic household cleaning products such as vinegar.
Your solution for the hard water stains is going to depend on the color of the stains.
Hard water contains dissolved minerals usually calcium and magnesium which tend to cause mineral buildup in water pipes.
Hard water can be a significant issue in certain areas.
Agitate just long enough to wet the clothes.
Hard water has the unique ability to make every white article of clothing you have a nice dingy color and depending on how hard the water actually is will depend on how dingy the hard water stains are.
Most powdered laundry detergent ingredients will bond with the water minerals and be rinsed away rather than cleaning your clothing so you will need to increase the amount of powdered detergent you use in some places by as much as 50.
When you wash your clothes in hard water you may not notice a difference in your colors but you will certainly see a difference in your whites.
If you have not installed a mechanical water softening system to remedy problems that have already occurred fill the washer with the hottest water appropriate for the fabric.
Washing your laundry in hard water can be tricky since some detergents don t react well with the minerals causing scum to form.
Fixing hard water laundry stains on clothes.
Hard water and soft water contain many properties including minerals and chemicals.
The mineral ingredients in the water are what cause the stains.
A water source loaded with suspended particles of iron bacteria leaves ugly discoloration and stains on kitchen bathroom and laundry fixtures and equipment as well as on dishes and laundry.
These show up on clothes when they come out of the washing machine.
If you notice this type of stain on your clothing it can be removed with simple cleaning methods.
Rusty water heaters pipes or water storage containers cause staining to be more sporadic.
Homes on private wells are more likely to have hard water iron and manganese issues whereas public water supplies typically include calcium and magnesium which may not cause hard water stains unless the home s hot water heater has formed rust inside.
Issues such as dull laundry white stains and bad odors on clothing are only some of the problems you could be dealing with.
One thing you might never expect to stain your clothing is water but hard water can do just that.
Water itself doesn t stain fabrics.