How to Check the Hardness of Your Water in 15 Seconds
Are you curious about what type of water you have? It’s definitely worth finding out and can make a big difference when it comes to your laundry routine, appliances and household fixtures..
Let me share a story with you to illustrate. The water was so hard at the last house we lived in that it broke down our water heater in just 2 years. The plumber told us he routinely replaces water heaters every 3 years or so in our area. Knowing our water hardness was extremely hard helped alert us to problems like that, so that we could budget and save for an appliance that we knew would need periodic replacement. It also meant I started stocking up on Lime-Away to keep our faucets looking nice.
Knowing your water hardness helps answer other questions. What type of detergent should you use? (it works more effectively in soft water and less effectively in hard water). Do you need a water softener? (extremely hard water will not only wear out appliances but corrode your kitchen and bath fixtures).
Your local plumber might be able to give you a rough idea of the water type based on a “grains per gallon” measurement. The scale of hardness, as defined by the Water Quality Association, is as follows:
Soft: 0-1 grains per gallon (gpg)
Slightly Hard: 1-3.5 gpg
Moderately Hard: 3.5-7.0 gpg
Hard: 7.0-10.5 gpg
Very Hard: over 10.5 gpg
But there’s also a simple and free test you can do at home. It takes less than a minute. Request your free water test from Water Boss. They will mail it to you within a few weeks.
The test consists of a white paper test stick and a color chart which is printed right on the package. Stick it under running water for a few seconds.
Read the results by comparing the wet test strip to the color chart on the package. My test result was right in the middle – the brown color equates to roughly 7 grains per gallon. According to the above scale, our water is “moderately hard.”
Diaper Junction also sells a 3-pack of water test strips if you’re placing a cloth diaper order anytime soon. Shake off the excess water and then wait 15 seconds.
Is your water hard or soft, or somewhere in between? Have you ever considered doing a test to get a definite answer?
i’ve never actually done this test, but seems really awesome. I better try it. Great post Anne.
It’s super easy, Polly! ~Anne Marie
Thanks for the test strip resources! I’ve been really curious about our water because I assume it’s hard but don’t know the exact number. It’s great that Diaper Junction has them for customers because knowing what type of water you have makes a difference with diaper laundrry.
I actually got my test strip free from Diaper Junction when they had a coupon for one with a $20 order 😉 Our water landed between hard and very hard. I was actually surprised it didn’t make it to very hard considering we live in the limestone belt of the US.
Mine was free, too, but Diaper Junction discontinued that promo a while ago. So do you use any softeners or additives to combat your hard water? ~Anne Marie
I grew up in a house with hard water, but I never really knew what that meant, so thanks for explaining it to me. What a shame about your water heater!
Our water is hard, but it tastes good! We haven’t been able to say that everywhere we’ve lived.
Our water is definitely hard but I’m curious what the results would be, I’ll have to get a test!
This is some important information for home owners, or soon-to-be home owners. I might get these test strips for our apartment!
I have tested our water and it is very hard. The hard water leaves rings on our toilet bowl and requires more cleaning
Our area is known to have issues with the well water. I would love to test our water!
This is perfect timing. We are getting our water heater replaced tomorrow. This is good to know about our water.
I never have checked the hardness of the water but I see now why it matters. This post has been awesome to learn from!
We have hard water here and have to use a water softener. I have never tested it though. I should just to make sure the water softener is working.
This is a test that I should do it at my home, too! Thanks for these useful tips!
Thanks for sharing this with us. It’s very helpful, and now I know our water’s hardness I can make some changes.
When we lived in Indiana we had extremely hard water. It made everything more challenging…laundry, cleaning, etc. Once we knew and got a water softener, it was a total game-changer. Knowledge is definitely power.
Wow! This is really amazing! Can’t wait to test ours.
We have to do this often to keep a check on ours too
I honestly didn’t know about this! I should test our water too, it’s so easy to do it!
This is really interesting. We got out well water tested when we first bought our house. It came back great just has a high calcium level.
Nice! I was wondering how to check as I’m not sure. I’m definitely going to check now since it’s free, thanks!
Very interesting…never really thought about the hardness of the water in relation to appliances. We will have to look into this soon – just in case!
Oh wow! I never thought to check for water hardness. Great information. Thanks!
Great read! I tried some water hardness tests that I could do using household items that I found at American Home Water. It’s giving me results that point to me having hard water and what you shared here is actually a great way to confirm the tests that I have done at home. Thanks!