Hard Water Treatment

This part contains information on hard water, problems associated with hardwater, the benefits of soft water, and water treatment. It also contains reviews and comparisons of the various methods available to control water hardness.

On our types of water treatment page , you will find reviews of packaged water treatment softeners (precipitating and non-precipitating), chemical water softeners, reverse osmosis water treatment filters, mechanical water treatment softeners and electro magnetic water treatment conditioners.

We have now also included some information on how water conditioners can be used to prevent limescale in solar heating systems.

Hard Water Problems

Laundering
Clothes washed in hard water often look dingy and feel harsh and scratchy. The hardness minerals combine with some soils to form insoluble salts, making them difficult to remove. Soil on clothes can introduce even more hardness minerals into the wash water. Continuous laundering in hard water can damage fibers and shorten the life of clothes by up to 40 percent.

Bathing
Bathing with soap in hard water leaves a film of sticky soap curd on the skin. The film may prevent removal of soil and bacteria. Soap curd interferes with the return of skin to its normal, slightly acid condition, and may lead to irritation. Soap curd on hair may make it dull, lifeless and difficult to manage.

Problems in Water Boiler Systems and Pipework
Hard water also contributes to inefficient and costly operation of water-using appliances. Heated hard water forms a scale of calcium and magnesium minerals (limescale deposits) that can contribute to the inefficient operation or failure of water-using appliances. Pipes can become clogged with scale that reduces water flow and ultimately requires pipe replacement. Limescale has been known to increase energy bills by up to 25%

Limescale in Solar Heating Systems
Solar heating, often used for heating swimming pools is prone to limescale buildup, which can reduce the efficiency of the electronic pump and therefore the overall systems performance will deteriorate. A low cost solution to this problem is to install a magnetic water conditioner before the pump, this will prevent limescale buildup and, over time, it will remove existing limescale.

Hard Water Benefits
Hard water is not a health hazard. In fact, the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences) states that hard drinking water generally contributes a small amount toward total calcium and magnesium human dietary needs. They further state that in some instances, where dissolved calcium and magnesium are very high, water could be a major contributor of calcium and magnesium to the diet.

The ideal solution would be to leave the calcium in the water, but alter its state so that it couldn't form limescale. This is exactly what magnetic water conditioners do.

Hard Water Testing
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.

As a guide, 60% of the UK population live in a hard water area. Click here for a regional map of water hardness in the UK

Most water softener companies will be able to supply you with a free water testing kit.

Once you've tested your water supply, 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.

Classification mg/l or ppm grains/gal
Soft 0 - 17.1 0 - 1
Slightly hard 17.1 - 60 1 - 3.5
Moderately hard 60 - 120 3.5 - 7.0
Hard 120 - 180 7.0 - 10.5
Very Hard 180 & over 10.5 & over