Water is called the “universal solvent” because so many substances can dissolve in it. As water comes in contact with mineral deposits, rock and sediment, it dissolves and picks up some natural calcium and magnesium. Water hardness is the measure of calcium and magnesium dissolved in your water supply. Since most of our fresh water comes from underground sources, hard water is the most common water problem in the United States, affecting more than 85% of homes and businesses across the country.
Hard water is not a health hazard but it causes many problems in the home. When hard water dries, it leaves behind minerals that look like white, flaky crusts on faucets, shower heads and other plumbing fixtures. This mineral scale can eventually clog the fine holes in faucet aerators and shower heads, leading to costly replacement. Hard water scale can also leave spots on shower doors, glass stove tops, windows and your car. Hard water causes problems with your dishwasher too. Those spots on glass and silverware are residual mineral deposits left behind after the rinse cycle. Calcium and magnesium also react with detergents, making them less effective in the dishwasher and washing machine. This means wasted time and water re-washing items that did not come clean. Mineral scale is also known as the “water heater killer.” When hard water is heated, the minerals react, forming solid carbonate particles. Minerals will form scale on the hottest parts of the water heater. With electric water heaters, this would be the heating coil, and in gas water heaters scale forms in the tank near the burner. If the heater element inside the water heater gets covered with scale, it can’t heat the water efficiently. Scale particles also build up inside your water heater. The scale flakes substantially reduce the amount of water the heater tank can hold. This means you may not have enough hot water for showers and cleaning. All of this leads to more water, energy consumption and premature water heater failure. The reaction occurs inside coffee makers and ultrasonic humidifiers too. Any device that gets hot will suffer from scale build-up. In many cases home and business owners simply get used to early appliance failure and scale build-up because they don’t know their water is hard. The first step in protecting your home or business is to find out if you have hard water. There is no reason to wonder if your water is causing problems and costing you money. The Health Metric Drinking Water Testing Kit makes it quick and easy to test water hardness. To make the test, simply dip the test strip in an 8-ounce sample of your water and compare the strip to the color matching chart. The ideal water hardness level is a range from 10-100 mg/L (milligram per liter). Water hardness above 100 mg/L can cause the problems mentioned above. Hard water is easily corrected with a water softener or a reverse osmosis system.
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