How to soften hard water: determining hardness level

If using a public water supply or a private draw-well, one can retrieve data on water construction as well as its hardness level from local authorities. Pay a visit to a town hall to find out the details. Definitely, much depends on the location of the dwelling; the results may vary significantly from state to state. The acquired info gives a chance to narrow the circle of possible optimal solutions and make a decent choice.

Speeding up the process is possible due to private labs, where one can order a water hardness test. Brining a sample of water is all these guys need; the lab is usually ready to announce the results on the same day.

To save precious time, purchase a test kit to and run the test manually to check water hardness. Test kits won’t really cost a fortune; some $30 investment may spare some long and valuable hours.

If the options described above seem to be pretty sophisticated, a chance to determine if the water is badly hard still exists. Take a close look at a restroom, bathroom and kitchen; hard water is a well-known catalyst of tons of scale. Another indicator of hard water is a huge consumption of cleaners: a poor foaming up effect is usually quite notable.

How to soften hard water: the panacea №1

Installing a water softening system to substitute magnesium and calcium with sodium and potassium seems to be a superior solution. These magical units prevent expensive technical appliances from irretrievable damage. Soft water prolongs the life of clothing, reduces the expenses on cleaners and makes the skin soft and hydrated.

The nowadays market offers a wide range of softening units of various price, effectiveness and maintenance costs.

Another option to consider is getting a water conditioner, which is cheaper and easier to maintain. One way or the other in accordance to experts the odds that the equipment will give a notable and measurable effect are pretty doubtful. The gurus of water treatment believe that purchasing some magnet-operated device is a poor solution, considering the device to be inefficient when it comes to real softening.

How to soften hard water: back to the middle ages

Of course one can take advantage of some old good methods of getting soft water if it comes to the pinch. The process of boiling is a protozoan way of getting soft water. Once boiled water gets cool remove the layer of lime particles from the top. Now the water can be used for dish and clothing washing, teeth brushing, bathing and stubborn stains cleaning. From a standpoint of effectiveness the option can definitely be labeled as “cheap and efficient”. But does it really worth the effort? Just imagine the crazy amounts of time wasted on the boiling itself…

Another ancient method to apply is adding washing soda to do the trick. Fill the pots and buckets with water and add some washing soda. Ready? Ok, leave it for a couple of days and get soft water from the top of the containers… so what about the efficiency and time? No joking.