Hard water in your home can result in dry skin, itchy clothes, or pipes that suffer from rust or other issues. Of course, you can’t tell if you have hard water just by looking at your skin or by detecting a crack in a pipe. Fortunately, there are a few ways to determine just how hard the water in your home is so that you can develop a plan to get rid of it if necessary.
How to Test for Hard Water
Buy Test Strips
For a few dollars, you can buy a pack of test strips either at a local home improvement store or online. All you need to do is put the test strip into a small sample of water and wait for a few seconds before pulling it out. The strip should change color after interacting with the water and the elements inside of it.
After you remove the strip, simply compare the color to the key on the box it came in. This will tell you how hard the water is, and it might also give you an idea of what exactly is in your water. If the test indicates that there are more than seven grains per gallon (GPG) of sediment in the water, it is considered at least moderately hard.
Send the Sample to a Lab
For about $50 to $75, you can send your water sample to a lab for professional testing. One of the benefits of a lab test is that the results will be more accurate than anything that you can do at home. You’ll also likely get a detailed report about the potential impact of hard water on your home and what you can do about it, as opposed to simply telling you how hard the water is. It generally takes about 10-14 days to hear back from the testing facility.
Use the Soap Test
Another easy way to test the quality of your home’s water is to use the soap test. The soap test has you place a small amount of dish soap into a container filled with a small amount of water. If the soap foams after coming into contact with the water, it’s likely soft enough that you don’t need to take further action. However, if the soap doesn’t foam or appears cloudy when mixed with the water, there is a good chance that it’s hard and that you’ll need to remedy the issue.
Ask Your Local Water Utility for a Water Quality Report
You can call your local water company for a report detailing what’s in the water that enters your home. Although it’s not technically a test, it will go a long way toward letting you know whether there is an issue that needs to be resolved. It’s possible that you’ll be able to get this report for free, and it will be highly detailed and accurate. Therefore, it might be worth looking into in lieu of a lab test or other methods that may be more expensive or less accurate.
Call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Today
If you think that your home suffers from hard water, give the team at Benjamin Franklin a call today. We’ll perform hard water tests, inspect your home’s plumbing system, or install a water softener in your home in a timely, friendly, and affordable manner.