Hard Water Solutions
WHEN IS WATER CONSIDERED HARD WATER?
Water is considered “hard” when your Harvard water contains higher levels of dissolved calcium and magnesium. It makes cleaning clothes more difficult, creates streaking on dishes and glasses, and makes cleaning your hair and skin well a challenge. It can also damage your home’s piping distribution system if not corrected. There are high efficiency filtration solutions that will condition your water by removing these minerals through the proven ion exchange water softening process.
While symptoms of water quality issues such as bad odors & taste, staining of laundry, bathroom fixtures, etc. are indicators of problems, the preferred starting point is to get a water test to identify the minerals or contaminants in the water and at what quantity they exist. This will lead to an effective system recommendation and route to providing your home with excellent water quality. While certain minerals & contaminants can be tested on-site (iron, hardness, pH, total dissolved solids), health threat items like radon in water, arsenic in water, nitrates and others should be properly sampled and brought to a certified laboratory for testing that requires specialized equipment.
Damaging Scale
WATER SOFTENER SYSTEMS
Water Softener & Sediment Filter
A water softener is a type of whole house water filtration system that is designed for removing magnesium & calcium as well as dissolved iron and manganese from the water. For water with high levels of iron or manganese (“the stainers”), an “up-flow” water softener is recommended to prevent mineral build-up in the bottom of the water softener. Also, high efficiency water softeners that are more efficient with both water and salt usage are preferred. For more on hard water, see the link at Hard water.
In addition to the above systems described, there are many other types of systems to remove bad tastes & odors, sediment and many other objectionable minerals and contaminants in the water. Starting with a water test will lead to the right approach.
