5 Hidden Ways Tap Water Damages Skin
If you or your loved ones have been struggling with dryness, itchiness, or flare-ups like eczema and acne, your tap water might be to blame. Research has revealed surprising links between what flows from your faucet and your skin’s health.
Here are some of the most common ways tap water quietly harms your skin — and the link between tap water and skin conditions that often goes unnoticed.
Hard water (high in calcium and magnesium) reacts with soaps, forming residues that strip oils and alter skin chemistry.
This is a major trigger in hard-water regions such as the Midwest U.S. and UK, with studies showing 2–3x higher eczema rates there.
When you wash with hard water, soap doesn’t fully dissolve. Instead, it reacts with the minerals and leaves a residue (a film) on your skin.
This film:
- Blocks pores which contributes to acne flare-ups.
- Strips natural oils which causes dryness, itching, or irritation.
- Exacerbates conditions like eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis.
Chlorine (or chloramines) is added in tap water for disinfection but acts as an oxidant, especially in hot showers where it's vaporized and absorbed. Sensitive skin sees quick reactions.
While effective for killing bacteria, these chemicals also disrupt the good bacteria on your skin, and break down skin’s protective layer, exposing the underlying layers to irritants and pathogens.
Repeated exposure to Chlorine or Chloramines thins the skin’s protective layer, causing contact dermatitis, eczema flares, itchiness, rash and chronic conditions such as acne/psoriasis.
Healthy skin is slightly acidic (around pH 4.5–5.5) while tap water is usually more alkaline (pH 7+).
Frequent washing with alkaline water weakens the skin’s acid natural barrier, making it easier for irritants and bacteria to penetrate, leading to dryness, tightness, and breakouts.
In eczema patients, skin pH is already elevated, so tap water accelerates damage.
Hot/prolonged exposure worsens all, as it swells skin pores for deeper penetration.
Chemical pollutants like heavy metals (arsenic, lead, mercury), nitrates (from fertilizers), and pesticides (from farming runoff) sneak into tap water from pipes, soil, or pollution.
When your skin soaks them up during showers or baths, they can irritate, inflame, or even trigger longer-term issues.
Your skin acts like a sponge, absorbing these through its outer layer, which then mess with its protective barrier, spark allergies, and ramp up inflammation.
These heavy metals also generate oxidative stress, which contributes to
- Inflammation and redness.
- Accelerated skin aging.
- Worsening of existing skin issues like acne or eczema.
Harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites slip through from pipe breaks, old infrastructure, or boil-water alerts into tap water.
They spark direct infections (especially if you have cuts or eczema) or worsen existing issues by stressing your body's defenses.
These germs poke holes on skin, letting irritation or inflammation run wild. Kids or folks with weak immunity (or chronic conditions like psoriasis) are hit harder because their skins are thinner or already cracked.
