Gayle, you can have a water softener put in and still keep a line in your kitchen open using your hard water. I know many people that do this.
As for me, hard water here. To be honest I don't like soft water! I have the same problem using my dishwasher, but its just me so I handwash. Haven't used my dishwasher in a couple years. When I have a large gathering I bring out the nicer paper plates and plastic! Toss in trash and clean up is about done! This year I used aluminium containers for my side dishes too. First time for that, but boy did it save me time in the kitchen.
