If you have hard water you probably want to know exactly how hard your water is. To do so, you’ll have to test the mineral content of your drinking water. Understanding what the mineral content of your water means requires an introduction to water hardness levels, and then comparing your results with a water hardness scale. In this article, you will learn about the difference between hard water vs. soft water and see how it can affect your tap water at home.
Water hardness is the concept used to communicate how much or how little dissolved minerals a sample of water contains. Water is considered “hard” if it has relatively high levels of dissolved minerals, the most common of which are calcium and magnesium. Water with very low levels of dissolved minerals is considered “soft”. To attain “soft” water, many people consider installing a water softener. So what is a water softener exactly? A home water softener system decreases the hardness of water, resulting in softer water.
Now, you must know that drinking water isn’t considered either hard or soft. Rather, water hardness is a sliding scale that is used to tell exactly how hard water is. Water can have only trace amounts of dissolved minerals, or be saturated in dissolved minerals, with water of varying degrees of hardness existing in between.
The water hardness scale is used to define the specific hardness of water. The scale can help you understand how hard your tap water is in relation to other water hardness readings, and to make an informed decision about whether you need a water softening solution in your home or business.
In order to determine your water hardness, you first have to take a sample of your water and measure its mineral content. You can use a test kit to measure the mineral and calcium hardness in your tap water. The most common water hardness tests measure this mineral content in grains per gallon (GPG). Specifically, your hardness test will let you know the GPG of calcium carbonate that a sample of water contains. This measurement is then applied to the water hardness level scale to determine how hard or soft your water is.
Here is the most common scale used to determine the dissolved mineral content of your water supply:
Understanding whether you have hard water, and how hard your water is, can help you take steps towards combating the impact of hard water. But why bother finding out if you have hard water in the first place? Most people want to know because hard water can have a number of detrimental effects to your water supply. Some of these you may already be familiar with, even if you didn’t know what caused them.
Here are some of the most common signs of hard water around the house:
The effects of hard water are widespread and quickly become frustrating. The first step towards addressing the effects of hard water is to understand how hard your water is through a water hardness test kit. The water hardness scale is used to help us understand if a sample of water is hard, and exactly how hard that water is.
The water hardness scale can provide context for a water hardness measurement. Typically, hard water is measured in terms of grains per gallon (GPG) of dissolved minerals the sample contains. Without the context that the water hardness scale provides, this measurement is simply a number. Once applied to the water hardness scale, this measurement can tell you how hard your water is relative to other water supplies. Once you have used a test kit to measure your calcium hardness, you can then improve your hardness level with a water softening treatment.
If you’re looking for a water filtration system to have purified water in your home, Rayne can help. To learn about an innovative solution to hard water such as a water softening treatment, please contact Rayne today.
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