Hard Water: Problems and Treatment Solutions

Hard water is probably the most common water problem found in the home. According to the Water Quality Association of the United States, hard water is water that contains dissolved hardness minerals above 1 GPG (grains per gallon). The most common hardness causing minerals are Calcium and Magnesium – dissolved in a water supply.

Hardness levels are:

  • Soft Water – less than 1 gpg .
  • Slightly hard – 1 to 3.5 gpg.
  • Moderately hard – 3.5 to 7 gpg .
  • Hard – 7 to 10.5 gpg .
  • Very Hard – 10.5 and higher gpg.

Problems caused by hard water

Hard water is fine for many uses around a home. From watering a garden to washing down a driveway, most water (whether it comes from a well or municipal treatment plant) works fine. But for indoor use such as bathing, doing dishes, washing clothes and dozens of other uses, hard water is not as efficient or convenient as “soft water.”

Potential results from water hardness:

  • Soap Scum stays on surfaces leaving unsightly spots on dishes, glassware and flat ware .
  • Heating hard water in the water heater forms hardness scale. This scale plugs plumbing and builds up on the inside of water heaters, It can cause increased electric or gas bills, and may lead to early failure of the appliance with costly replacement necessary.
  • Soap scum is difficult to remove and stays on your skin after bathing or showering. It clogs skin pores and coats hair, and its residue can be a breeding ground for bacteria, cause diaper rash and skin irritation .
  • Hardness minerals may cause unwanted taste in cooked foods such as vegetables and cause cloudy ice cubes.

Where to obtain water hardness information

For municipal water supplies, call the water department or your local city government. But to obtain additional information about a water supply, have the water tested through a professional laboratory. Such analysis may be bacterial, microbiological, or chemical, depending on the purpose. Chemical analyses made by labs show iron in milligrams per liter and hardness minerals in grains per gallon or milligrams per liter.

If on a private well, contact your county extension agent. Take a sample of the water to be tested and send it to the state health department for testing. There are independent testing labs listed in the yellow pages that will test the water. Independent water conditioning companies can also test for hardness

If water comes from a private well, the homeowner should test it for bacteria annually. Check with local authorities for recommended tests and their frequency

Treatment options for hard water

If water tests over 1 GPG hard, consider treating it with:

Chemical Treatment

Chemical treatments use various detergents and other substances to “cover up” or hide some of the negative effects of hard water.

Mechanical Treatment

Mechanical treatments physically remove hardness minerals from the water.

The most common mechanical way to soften water is through the use of an ion exchange water softener. This device uses an ion exchange process to replace hardness minerals in the water with another substance. The vast majority of water softening equipment today exchanges hardness minerals for sodium. The process consists of flowing the hard waterover a bed of plastic resin beads. On each bead, slight electric charges hold sodium ions on the surface of the bead. However, these beads also have the ability to attract and hold hardness minerals. As hard water flows through the water softener, it passes around the plastic beads. The hardness minerals (ions) in the water have a greater attraction to the bead than the sodium on the bead. Therefore, they attach themselves to the bead, and in the process they displace the sodium ions. Thus the name ion exchange.