WaterNoteStart

White scale and spots

This usually means hard water, which is calcium and magnesium carried in solution.

Those minerals drop out of solution on anything hot and stay behind when a droplet dries, and they bind to soap instead of letting it foam.

Look for crust on the kettle element and the shower head, a chalky ring at the water line in the toilet, and more soap used for less lather.

Do not buy a cartridge filter for this. Sediment and carbon cartridges do not take hardness out, and any softener sized before someone has a hardness number is a guess.

See the next step

Related: orange or brown stains and salty after a softener.