Hard Water, What is it, What Makes Hard Water, Hard Water?
Hey everybody. It’s James again from Jila Water, and today I would like to cover hard water, what it is, and what causes it. Hard water has a level of magnesium and calcium and minerals held within the water. And what makes it hard is that those minerals don’t like to be in solution. They want to come out of that solution and become hard minerals attached to things, and this is what becomes scale in and around your home.
It can also bond with soaps and detergents and create scum. So hard water is a problem. If you have it, you know, you got it.
Hard water results from the natural process or the hydrologic cycle of water evaporating from our ocean and the ground, then turning into clouds and then raining back to the earth and the water that rains down through the soil and the rock into our underground aquifers. Since water is such an excellent solvent, it will erode things like the rock on the way to the aquifer and water drinking supply.
A significant part of this country is very rich in magnesium and calcium. So that water molecule, when it gets into the aquifer and then up through the ground to our water supplies, whether it be a well or maybe into a surface water supply, that’s fed from an underground pool, we have hard water that’s loaded with these metals and minerals.
The issue is magnesium and calcium are just some of the elements that don’t like being in the water, so they do what they can to escape. The magnesium and calcium want to switch back to the hard solid form and that’s why they bond to surfaces found around the home. They will create scale because it connects with the surfaces of the things that come in contact with most notably on your home’s shower. Or in the pot, when you boil water to cook eggs, for example, That white scum or see on the bottom of your pot are those hard minerals that have come out of the home’s water supply.
Water is found predominantly in groundwater supplies. A lot of local councils use groundwater supplies for their water. Most Brisbane homeowners where their water comes from the ground surfaces water supplies like Summerset and Wivenhoe dams that are mostly fed by precipitation and rain.
A relatively simple test can be done of your home’s water by us here at Jila Water to see how hard our home’s water is. We use test strips and different other methods so we can see just what want in your home’s water. Here at Jila Water, we will give you precisely how many grains per gallon of hardness you may have in your water supply.
Beyond the nuisance aspect of hard water, there’s an actual cost to hard water. And it lines up basically with having to clean the effects of hard water off of shower doors off of your dishwasher, um, on your appliances, your glassware. And there’s also the cost of the wear and tear on your water-using appliances, specifically the hot water heater or the dishwasher; both of those appliances are heating water to do their job.
The water heater, obviously that job is to heat water, and as the water heats up, the molecular activity speeds up, and that magnesium and calcium come out of the solution that much faster. And on an electric water heater that scale adheres to the heating elements, the efficiency of that water heater goes way down because now it has to heat through the scale.
Heating elements are constantly accumulating these elements, a gas-fired heater, does the same thing, except now the scale is dropping to the bottom of the water heater. We’re half of the heat, the rock. Before it can heat the water in a, in a study done by the Patel Institute, they found out that a heater on soft water will last the entire 15 years expected life span without loss of any efficiency.
And the dishwasher, the same result. The other thing they watched for was showerheads because that’s probably the most visual example of the effect of hard water. You see, as the water blows through the nozzle. That showerhead, those hardness minerals are coming out of solution very fast. And if you have, if your shower head looks white and filming, that means that your hardness is scaling the shower head up, and it won’t be long before it starts clogging some of those spray nozzles.
And then you got an inefficient shower, head, and soft water. Spray through the showerhead without that scale appearing. So it’s a huge, huge, huge, problem with hard water. What’s the cost, studies show that 20% of every dollar you spend at the grocery store. If you live in hard water conditions, you’re spending on cleaning supplies to battle the effects of hard water, 20%.
And you think about if you spend a hundred or a couple of hundred bucks a week on groceries. 20 to $40 of that money is being spent on cleaning supplies. Can you imagine putting that money back in your pocket with soft water,
Another benefit that you’ll see is soft water. To your skin and your hair. When you’re dealing with hard water, those hard water minerals get into your pores, and they get into your hair. So you have to use moisturizers. You have to use conditioners for your hair. With soft water. You can elicit.
The majority of that, the other thing that you run into is your laundry. That hard mineral gets into the fabric of your clothing, and it turns the colors dingy, and it also makes them hard. I mean, there’s actually a stiffness to the material because of hard water with software. Your colors stay vibrant, your clothes last longer and it, and towels, for example, are a pleasure to use.
Not something that’s going to feel like sandpaper. Wow.
We get questions sometimes that hard water is bad for you. Well, it’s not necessarily a health concern to drink hard water. However, some think of the heightened level of minerals. It is not good for you because humans don’t get their minerals from water. We get our minerals rather from plants, fruits, and vegetables.
Water’s suitable for the lubrication of our organs. It’s good for the hydration of joints, but it’s not necessarily good to have lots of minerals in it. So what we find is that kidneys have to deal with it, and I’ve always commented. So I ask you should you get a filter for your home Or do you want to be the filter? Something to think about with heavy mineralization?
No.
What’s the best and easiest way to get rid of hard water in the home I hear you ask? What’s the best way to get Jila Water Whole House Water Filter system fitted to your home? That way we’re going to run water all your homes water through that. And the software has a 3-stage filtration inside. That’s going to grab the different hardness-causing minerals. Fitting a whole-house water filtration system from the team here at Jila Water will make a world of difference.
Having a 4-stage Jila Water Whole House Water Filter System fitted truly it’s the best way to deal with hardness because we’re taking the hardness minerals out of the way.
From this point of view, the Jila Water Whole House Water Filter System will take care of all the water you’re actually going to drink. Make ice or cook with it, and that’s going to reduce the sodium in the water.
An alternative to ion exchange water softening is going to come under the category of scale inhibitors. There’s no such thing as a salt-free water softener. Again, that goes back to the efficiency of ion exchange, taking the mineral. Everything else is a scale inhibitor. And what they’re built to do is hold the hardness minerals in solution so that they don’t come out and create scale.
You won’t see the same benefits of soft water with a scale inhibitor that you do with ion exchange. Water softener scale inhibitors work. They work as long as you’re. On a well water supply, guess where you find most of your hardness, and what they do is create tiny crystals around the hardness minerals.
If there’s any iron or manganese in the water, it pretty much makes that media inert. It won’t do anything at that point. Well, that’s all I’ve got for hard water, be sure.
If you’re in the Brisbane area and would like our team to come and test your home’s water, please click the link and book a FREE in-home water test today from the team here at Jila Water.
Share this post
