Try This Easy DIY Test for Hard Water in Your Home

Hard water is one of the most common complaints homeowners have these days about the water quality in their homes. Hard water is essentially the presence of salts of calcium and magnesium along with other naturally occurring minerals in the water. While it is not majorly a health concern, it leads to excessive damage to your heating appliances. It leads to the formation of limescale buildup which clogs up plumbing fixtures, decreases the efficiency of appliances and increases the electric bills. On top of it, hard water requires more soap to wash off. That’s frustrating when you’re washing clothes, doing dishes, or taking a shower.

Most homeowners don’t realize this issue until they observe significant limescale build on their appliances. Even treated water in your home from a water treatment plant does not exclude the possibility of the presence of these minerals. So how to find out for sure if you’ve hard water flowing in your pipes?

Well, there are several tests that can be done to find out whether your water is hard. The most accurate test is done in an independent laboratory on a sample of water taken from your home. At times, many people find these comprehensive water tests to be expensive.However, many fast and inexpensive water hardness tests can be performed at home. While they are undoubtedly not as precise as a water test performed in a lab, you can get a fair idea of water hardness in your home.

There is a very simple way to know if you have hard water at home. All it takes is a clear container and some soap. Follow this step by step procedure to see the results.

1. Fill the Container with Water

The first step is the fill the container with water. It is highly recommended to take a see-through container like an empty plastic water bottle or a transparent bowl. Bottles are readily available, so stick to them.

Now that you have a clear container, fill it halfway through to allow room for shaking.

2. Add Soap

For the best results, use liquid soap. It is important to note that detergent should not be added as it contains additives which may skew the results of the test.Add in about 10 drops of the soap into the water.

3. Shake, Shake, Shake

It’s time for a vigorous shake. Screw on the cap of the bottle and shake for at least 10-15 seconds to allow soapy bubbles to form.

Now is the time to check the results. 3 parameters need to be checked to reach to a conclusion.

1. Do bubbles form?
2. How soon the bubbles form?
3. Is the water below suds clear?

If your soap solution foams up quickly with a lot of bubbles and the water below the bubbles is clear, then you have soft water. On the other hand, if your solution doesn’t foam up well creating only a few bubbles and your water below suds is cloudy, then this indicates the presence of hard water.

You can continue adding more soap to this solution. The more soap you add, the harder your water is and the more soap you’re using in your household on a daily basis.

You can easily address the hard water problem in your home. Installing a water softener removes all the excess minerals from your water. As a result, you get soft water which does not allow limescale buildup on your appliances and saves you a lot of money. An average household in Ireland saves up to €600 every year when they switch to soft water in their home.