How Do You Know If You Have Hard Water

How Do You Know If You Have Hard Water

Reading my this article you can learn some facts about hardness of water and find answers of some hard water related questions like How do you know if you have hard water? Is soft water bad to drink? How do you make hard water soft? How to test water hardness? Water softener health risks, soft water skin problems and also I am sharing water hardness chart. Still more than one billion people all over the world do not have ready access to an adequate and safe water supply and more than 800 million of those unsaved live in rural areas. 

Is Hard Water Bad To Drink 

Water is one of the prime necessities of life. We can hardly live for a few days without water. In a man’s body, 80% is water. Cell, blood, and bones contain water, respectively. We get water from rivers, lakes, tanks, and now on hills. In spite of such abundance, there is a shortage of soft water in the world. Water is a good solvent and picks up impurities easily. As water moves through soil and rock, it dissolves very small amounts of minerals and holds them in solution.

Calcium and magnesium dissolved in water are the two most common minerals that make water “hard”.  The degree of hardness becomes greater as the calcium and magnesium content increases and is related to the concentration of univalent cations dissolved in the water.

Is Hard Water Bad To Drink? The answer is that hard water is not a health hazard, but dealing with hard water in the home can be a nuisance. In fact, the National Research Council states that hard drinking water generally contributes a small amount toward total calcium and magnesium human dietary needs.

Indications of Hard Water

Hard water interferes with almost every cleaning task from laundering and dish washing to bathing and personal grooming. Clothes laundered in hard water may look dingy and feel harsh and scratchy. Dishes and glasses may be spotted when dry. The amount of hardness minerals in water affects the amount of soap and detergent necessary for cleaning. Bathing with soap in hard water leaves a film of sticky soap curd on the skin.

When doing laundry in hard water, soap curds lodge in fabric during washing to make fabric stiff and rough.  Incomplete soil removal from laundry causes graying of white fabric and the loss of brightness in colors. Continuous laundering in hard water can shorten the life of clothes.

Water Testing Methods

If you are on a municipal water system, the water supplier can tell you the hardness level of the water they deliver. If you have a private water supply, you can have the water tested for hardness.  Most water testing laboratories offer hardness tests for a fee. Water hardness testing kits are available for purchase through water testing supply companies. If more accurate measurements are needed, contact a testing laboratory.  The hardness of your water will be reported in grains per gallon, milligrams per liter (mg/l) or parts per million (ppm). One grain of hardness equals 17.1 mg/l or ppm of hardness.

Water Hardness Chart   

The hardness of your water will be reported in grains per gallon, milligrams per liter (mg/l) or parts per million (ppm). One grain of hardness equals 17.1 mg/l or ppm of hardness. Below is the Water Hardness Chart to analysis drinking water. 

Homemade Water Hardness Test  PIc Homemade hardness test

1 To 12 oz or 350 mls of water add dish detergent – one drop at a time.Homemade Water Hardness Test  PIc Homemade hardness test

1.  Shake sample and look for suds.

2.  Count the number of drops.

3.  When you see suds you are done.

There are two ways to control water hardness. Use a packaged water softener or use a mechanical water softening unit. How To Control Water Hardness

Packaged Water Softeners

Packaged water softeners are chemicals that help control water hardness. They fall into two categories, precipitating and non-precipitating. Precipitating water softeners include washing soda and borax. These products form an insoluble precipitate with calcium and magnesium ions. The mineral ions then cannot interfere with cleaning efficiency, but the precipitate makes the water cloudy and can build up on surfaces. Precipitating water softeners increase the alkalinity of the cleaning solution and this may damage skin and other materials being cleaned.

Mechanical Water Softening Unit

Mechanical water softening units can be permanently installed into the plumbing system to continuously remove calcium and magnesium.  Hard water treated with an ion exchange water softener has sodium added. According to the Water Quality Association (WQA), the ion exchange softening process adds sodium at the rate of about 8 mg/liter for each grain of hardness removed per gallon of water.

Health Effects of Hard Water

Inadequate intakes of calcium have been associated with increased risks of kidney stones, hypertension and stroke and coronary artery disease.

Kidney stones

The relationship between calcium intake and the incidence of kidney stones is dependent on whether calcium is consumed with food or separately. Calcium that reaches the lower small intestine actually protects against kidney stones by binding oxalic acid (a precursor to common kidney stones) in foods and
reducing its absorption. Calcium ingested from water together with food would have the same effect. Epidemiological evidence is strong that dietary calcium reduces the incidence of kidney stones. In contrast, the results of a large randomized trial1 suggest an increased risk of kidney stones associated with calcium supplements, possibly because the calcium was not ingested with food or the supplements were taken by those who exceeded the upper level of 2500 mg/day. 

Hypertension And Stroke

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a risk factor for several diseases. It is an important health problem especially in developed countries, but also in developing countries. Although hypertension is multi factorial in origin, adequate calcium intake has been associated with lowered risk of elevated blood pressure in some, but not all, studies. A clear mechanism has not been identified. Dairy products, more than calcium, per se, have been associated with reduced blood pressure in randomized prospective studies and with reduced risk of stroke in prospective studies.

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