What does having Very hard water mean?

Question

We had our water tested and it is very hard, does that mean more or less soap in the washer? I'm not really sure what difference hard and soft water makes.

Answer 1

I have very hard water too. Basically it means that there are tons of minerals in your water. Usually there is a large percentage of metal ions like calcium that cause "scaling"....you know, that nasty yellowish buildup that always seems to be all over your sink! If you have softer water, you can use less detergent because it "soaps" much easier. When you wash your hands, do you notice that you have a hard time getting your soap to lather? That is caused by having hard water. Softer water means less frustration when cleaning the sink, tub, shower and toilet. Your sink, tub. toilet. etc have a longer life too with soft water.

All that soap scum on your shower....thats from hard water mixed with soap! When you wash your clothes in soft water, you generally only have to use about half the detergent you would normally. Also, when you bathe, the soap mixes with the hard water and, even though you may not feel it, does not completely rinse off of your skin. This causes clogged pores and dry itchy skin! Crazy huh!

Answer 2

Hard water has lots of minerals in it. Calcium, Iron etc. The harder the water the harder it will be to get your clothes clean. And will notice after awhile that your wash cloths, dish rags will repel water instead of absorbing it. Your whites can turn yellow from the iron rust. A water softener will help with that but the down side is that you wont feel clean after taking a shower. You get used to it though. Water softeners use salt to remove the Iron. Kind of like how road salt eats a car. The water tastes nasty fro a softener also. I grew up with well water and eventually it became to hard to actually use. We had it tested and the water was off the scale. Take some of your water and boil it off or let it evaporate and you can see the residue in the pan. Are water got to a point it would leave an 1/8 crust of calcium and rust on the pot.

Answer 3

The people who ran your test should have given you either a ppm hardness, or a grains per gallon hardness.

"Very Hard" is relative. We have 20 Grains/Gallon in our water and when our water softener isn't working the dishes in the dishwasher just look white with plated out Calcium Salts.

20 actually isn't that high as some water can be much harder, up to 90 or higher.

Hard water usually comes from wells. The water has perculated through the soil for centuries and picked up all sorts of minerals along the way.

Soft Water is usually from fresh water lakes or rivers.

If your city water is pumped from deep water wells your water is likely hard.

If you get a softener for the water though, you don't want to use the soft water for drinking water since the hardness is usually replaced with Sodium. Drinking it would increase your risk of heart attacks.

Answer 4

As already said hard water has a high mineral content. If you do have hard water soap is difficult to rinse off and doesn't lather well. You might find you clothes are dingy and your dishes are spotted, it is hard to clean your tub and sinks etc. Mineral deposits leave a residue the soap and oils cling to in all the things I mentioned. Get a water softening system for your whole house, you will notice a BIG difference.

Answer 5

Sorry to hear that! We have very hard water here in West Texas, also!
If you have hard water, you need MORE soap, deterent, etc.
If you get a water softener installed, you will use LESS soap, etc.

Hard water also means more plumbing repairs & appliances won't last as long.

Answer 6

It means that your water is loaded in mineral cations like Calcium, perhaps magnesium, selenium, and most other common minerals from well water. Most of these minerals will bind to the negative polar ends of the soap chemicals rendering it ineffective. You would definitely use more soap.

When you take shower and if you have hard water, 5 seconds of rinsing will take away the soap suds from your body, but with soft water, sometimes rinsing for 5 minutes, you still feel very soapy.

Answer 7

Hard water means more iron, or rust. You need to use more soap or probably buy and install a water softener. That uses a bunch of salt bags like morton system saver or similar products to keep it up and working.

Answer 8

Hard water is water that has a high mineral content (water with a low mineral content is known as soft water). This content usually consists of high levels of metal ions, mainly calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the form of carbonates, but may include several other metals as well as bicarbonates and sulfates. It is not generally dangerous. The simplest way to determine if water is hard or soft is the lather/froth test. If the water is very soft, soap will tend to lather up easily when agitated, whereas with hard water it will not. Toothpaste will also not froth well in hard water. More exact methods of 'hardness' detection use a wet titration method to determine hardness. Water hardness is not an important consideration for many uses of water, like putting out fires or watering the lawn.

Total water 'hardness' (including both Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions) is reported as ppm w/v (or mg/L) of CaCO3. Water hardness usually measures the total concentration of Ca and Mg, the two most prevalent divalent metal ions, although in some geographical locations iron, aluminium, and manganese may also be present at elevated levels. Calcium usually enters the water from either CaCO3, as limestone or chalk or from mineral deposits of CaSO4. The predominant source of magnesium is dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2.

The deposit of calcium carbonate (also called lime, limescale, etc.) left after hard water has evaporated from a surface is often referred to as 'hard water' even though no water is present.

Answer 9

it means you have a lot of metals in your water. you can get a water softener. it's basicly a really big filtration system. i don't use more or less detergent because of my hard water issues. i don't find that it makes a difference. i am picky about what i buy for cleaners, though. the stronger bathroom cleaners without bleach do a better job on things like the toilet and shower. bleach only makes it worse. fill your pool then dump a bottle of bleach in it, you'll see what i mean.

Answer 10

Hard water has a higher concentration of minerals in it, like iron or sulfur. It is not recommended for drinking or your plumbing as it causes rust stains and sediment buildup on your tubs, sinks, & toilets and gives you diarrhea and possibly other problems.