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When people hear of hard water, they usually have this negative notion about it that it is always going to be a bad, harmful mention. This is mostly incorrect, however it is true that hard water in higher levels is harmful to an extent, of course considering the presence of magnesium and calcium in excessive amounts is a problem. Too much of anything is bad for human health, so minerals are no exception.
There is a certain point where you realize where the hardness feels like too much and it starts harming your body and you can actually feel the harshness by yourself, you use too much water and it feels like you still need to use more. Not only that, you can see your appliances losing their functionality and performance in addition to the clogged up limescale in the drainage lines.
Though new studies have found that a certain extent of these mentioned minerals is necessary for the proper maintenance of human health (body & mind) so in order to keep these proportions in mind, you need to follow certain instructions.
Ideal water hardness – how to determine it in an easy way
There are a number of ways we can easily determine the ideal water hardness but only the best ways are listed in this article. Let’s try to ask ourselves some relevant questions that I have listed below.
Using a water softness scale and conduct home tests
This is probably the first question that needs to be answered in order to figure out where you stand. There are a number of ways to test it. First, you need a proper measuring scale, according to the U.S geological department, they identify water levels on a milligrams per litre measurement so the hardest water level is at 180 mg/L, a moderate water hardness level at approximately 60 to 120 milligrams per litre and finally, the soft water at a 0 to 60 mg/L scale.
Apart from that, it’s easier to determine how hard your water is by mixing a liquid soap and trying to dissolve it in water, if it doesn’t turn to bubbles or foam that means you are experiencing a hard water problem. Also, the hard water leaves a lot of signs behind such as markings, limescale, white patches on clothes, appliances and kitchen utensils. It never leaves the feeling of cleanliness and you feel like you need to use more water which is a loss in itself.
Use a hard water testing kit
If you are basing the level of hardness on your locality, you will find it varies accordingly. If you are in areas where the water is supplied to you from the ground, your water may have increased water hardness. To solve this issue, you might need to purchase a water testing kit that uses a pH strip to identify how hard your water is. You can also contact the city or town’s municipality to figure out the hardness level or they can also provide you with water samples for testing at home.
Identifying the ideal hardness level
So to sum it all up, it’s totally up to you whether you want a soft water type or a moderately hard water level in your daily usage. If you use a water softener, the water will become soft and healthy for drinking but due to its low mineral level, it can easily absorb lead from the drainage pipelines.
In addition, the water softener uses either potassium or sodium so if you are concerned about having excessive amounts of sodium in your daily intake, you should think twice. Though if you are able to maintain a balanced diet by incorporating magnesium and calcium in your food intake and are okay with the hard water leaving traces behind or affecting your skin at a moderate level then you should be okay.
FAQs
What is the best way to determine the hardness level in my water supply?
Probably the most basic option available for you is investing in a good water softener, a water softener effectively lowers down the amount of minerals such as calcium and magnesium (using a process called the ‘ion exchange’) present in the water and makes it bearable for your usage and intake.
Some people also go for the ‘conditioning units’ because of no salt usage involved which use calcium carbonate to get rid of minerals though it is not as effective as the water softener that completely gets rid of the impurities and chemicals.
Am I supposed to be softening my water?
As mentioned earlier, it’s totally a user preference, if you don’t have severe problems with your daily water intake, it is completely fine not to take action. But if you are facing numerous health risks, stains on your laundry, markings on the utensils, malfunctioning of appliances and limescale formation within the water supply pipes then it’s definitely a smart move to invest in water softening.