What Is Hard Water And What Does It Do?

Hard water is any water that has a high dissolved mineral content. The most common minerals found in hard water are calcium and magnesium. To test if you have hard water, contact a local water softener supplier and ask for a free water testing kit. Using this kit you can find out how many parts per million (ppm) or grains per gallon (gpg) your water has. Any measure of 40 ppm or 7 gpg is considered hard water.

Hard water can cause many household problems. Hard water reacts with many soaps, making them much less effective at cleaning. If you have trouble getting a good lather from your hand soap or shampoo you may have hard water. Hard water can also leave soap scum and deposits. This is really hard on your clothing.

Limescale is one of the worst effects of hard water. Limescale will etch glass, clog pipes, and ruin coffer makers, irons, humidifiers, hot water heaters, washing machines, dish washers, steam cleaners and any household appliance that uses water. Hard water can cost you a lot of money over time in replacements and repairs. Tomorrow I'll post on ways to soften your water.