Signs of Soft Water

Determining the hardness of the water coming from your faucets isn't terribly difficult.

Water hardness is a measurement of the minerals found in water naturally. Soft water is generally considered to be preferable because hard water causes so many problems with household appliances, problems that decrease their longevity and efficacy. Determining if you have soft water is as easy as determining that you don't have hard water.

Calcium carbonate

Hardness is often reported as an equivalent quantity of calcium carbonate. Soft water has a calcium carbonate content of 75 or fewer parts per million. Any water with a rating above 75 ppm is classified in varying degrees of hardness, with anything over 300 ppm being very hard. Calcium carbonate is naturally occurring, but too much causes harm to household appliances, including dishwashers and washing machines.

PPM v. grains/gal

Water hardness is sometimes expressed in other ways: parts per million or grains per gallon. These measurements are not firm; what one organization calls soft water another organization might consider slightly hard water. Generally, one grain per gallon equals 17 ppm. Soft water, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in 1962, classifies soft water as having 0 to 60 ppm or 0 to 3.5 grains per gallon. Some private organizations, however, classify soft water as between 0 and 1 grain per gallon, or between 0 and 17 ppm, as soft water.

Effects of Soft Water

If you have soft water, you'll notice that there are no mineral deposits on your pots and pans when you wash them and allow them to air dry. Your hot water heater will not have mineral scale build-up and you will notice increased longevity in household appliances like dishwashers and washing machines. Further, you will use less detergent, soap and shampoo with soft water than you would with hard water.

Slippery or Slimy

Calcium and magnesium, two minerals that are found in large quantities in hard water, leave sticky residue on your skin. Unlike hard water, soft water has very little of either calcium and magnesium. Instead, it has a high quantity of sodium and sodium ions, which have a slippery feel. When water is softened, each grain per gallon of hardness that is removed results in an increase of 7.5 milligrams of sodium per quart of water.

Lead

Soft water is more likely than hard water to contain lead. The soft water leaches metal from pipes and other fixtures, which pulls in copper, lead, zinc and cadmium. If your water has a higher than normal rating of these metals, your water is likely soft.

References

• Greensboro Water Resources: Water Hardness
• Gallatin, Montana: Water Softeners, Septic Systems & Ground Water
• Washington State University Extension: Sodium Content of Your Drinking Water
• Washington State Department of Health: Lead in Drinking Water
• Water Systems Specialties: Reale Lemay Discusses Various Water Quality and Delivery Problems Facing His Connecticut Customers
• Texas A&M: Water Quality and Laundry Problems