How to Test Your Water for Hardness at Home: Insights from a Pentair Water Softening Company in Medinah, Illinois

Have you started seeing your dishes coming out of the dishwasher covered in weird white spots, your soap refusing to lather in the shower, and your hair feeling dry and stiff no matter what shampoo you use? If so, then chances are that you have hard water in your home.

Below, this Pentair water softening company in Medinah, Illinois is going to explain how you can test for water hardness at home — and we’ll also explain what you can do to minimize the problem if your test results confirm that you have hard water.

Simple tests to confirm your water hardness.

First and foremost, you’ll need to make sure that hard water is the true problem. You can test your water hardness yourself in a couple of easy ways.

One of these is the soap test. Get a clear bottle with a tight-fitting cap and fill it one-third full of tap water. Add about 10 drops of plain liquid soap, secure the cap, and shake the bottle for at least 10 seconds. If the water stays cloudy and you hardly see any bubbles, you probably have hard water.

For more accurate testing, you could buy a water hardness test kit online or at a hardware store. These kits are very easy to use and will tell you exactly how hard your water is. Fill a clean cup with tap water and dip the test strip into the water (follow the instructions on the kit). After waiting a few seconds, the strip will change color. Compare this color on the strip to the chart in the kit to find out your water’s hardness level.

If you still have no idea if hard water is affecting your home, a Pentair water softening company in Medinah, Illinois can test your water professionally and help you figure out the best solution.

Try these temporary solutions to reduce the effects of hard water in your home.

While the best solution to minimize the effects of hard water is installing a water softener, there are a few things you can try in the meantime.

For example, you can try cleaning with vinegar. Hard water leaves behind white spots and buildup on your faucets, showerheads, and even your glassware, but the acidity in vinegar breaks down this mineral buildup and makes it easy to wipe away. Soak a cloth in vinegar and wrap it around the faucet or showerhead. Leave it for about an hour, then scrub and rinse. To deal with hard water spots on glassware, just run an empty dishwasher cycle with a cup of vinegar in the top rack. 

Hard water can also make your skin dry and your hair dull and lifeless. Regular soaps and shampoos don’t lather well in hard water and don’t clean as effectively, so try switching to something that is especially formulated to work with hard water. For example, a chelating shampoo is specially made to remove hard mineral buildup and keep your hair feeling soft and healthy.

A water softener is the most effective way to remove hard minerals from your water.

These DIY or at-home methods can help you to some extent, but they don’t solve the actual hard water problem. That is the job of a water softener.

Water softeners operate on the principle of ion exchange. Hard water flows through a resin tank filled with tiny beads that are charged with sodium or potassium ions. These beads grab onto the hard water minerals (like calcium and magnesium) and replace them with sodium or potassium ions. This process effectively removes the hardness minerals from the water.

If you have hard water in your home, a Pentair water softening company in Medinah, Illinois can provide a long-term solution by installing a water softener that removes hard water minerals completely.

Looking for a Pentair Water Softening Company in Medinah, Illinois?

Are you tired of dealing with the problems caused by hard water? If so, and if you’re ready to have a new water softener installed by the best Pentair water softening company in Medinah, Illinois, you’ve come to the right place — Johnson Water Conditioning is just a call away. Contact us today to learn how we can help improve your water quality.