Hard water is water that has higher levels of TDS, or total dissolved solids.
The hardness of water is mainly determined by how much calcium and magnesium it contains, but hardness can also be caused by other dissolved solids, like:
- Aluminum
- Barium
- Iron
- Zinc
- Manganese
- Potassium
- Sulfates
- Nitrates
- Bicarbonates
Hard Water, pH and Alkalinity
In general, hard water usually has a higher pH.
That’s because higher levels of magnesium and calcium make the water less acidic and more alkaline.
The more alkaline your water is, the higher its pH.
The pH scale ranges from 0 (most acidic), to 14 (most alkaline), with 7 being neutral in the middle.
Alkaline water due to healthy amounts of magnesium and calcium has a pH of between 7.5 and 8.5.
This is also the pH of most mineral water and alkaline bottled water products.
How Does Mineral Content and pH Affect Taste?
Research shows that most people prefer the taste of slightly alkaline water with higher TDS.
On the other hand, water with a very low TDS tends to taste “flat” and has a less desirable taste to many people.
Potential Health Effects of Hard Water
Quite the opposite, early research indicates that hard water has several potential health benefits.
Drinking hard water with high concentrations of calcium and magnesium can help you get the daily recommended dose of these important minerals.
For most folks, the higher the calcium content, the better…
However, drinking water with both magnesium and sulfate present in high amounts (greater than 250 mg/l) can have a laxative effect.
Let’s take a closer look at the health effects of hard water:
1. Digestive Health and Constipation
Digestive health is one of the top potential health effects of hard water, especially for people with constipation.
In fact, studies show it can help relieve constipation in roughly 85% of cases.
The magnesium in hard water has a mild laxative effect, and the calcium combines in the GI tract with excess bile and fats to lubricate bowel movements.
It’s a match made in digestive heaven!
Cases indicate that drinking hard water may lower the chance of dying from a heart attack.
In Finland and South Africa, they linked magnesium in drinking water to a lower death rate from ischemic heart disease.
3. Cerebrovascular Disease
Some reports suggest that drinking water high in magnesium may reduce the risk of cerebrovascular disease.
Higher levels of calcium in drinking water may promote bone density.
One study found that spine mineral density was significantly higher in women who drank high-calcium water (greater than 60 mg/l).
5. May Increase Dermatitis and Eczema
The one negative health effect of hard water is that it can aggravate symptoms in people with skin conditions like dermatitis and eczema.
In general, showering and bathing with hard water can change the pH of the skin and make it drier.
If you notice problems with dry skin, you might want to consider installing a water softening system in your home.
Health Benefits of Cooking with Hard Water
Cooking with hard water can help preserve the nutritional value of your food.
When you boil vegetables in soft water, it can leach healthy minerals from the food.
However, if you cook using hard water, the loss of magnesium and other minerals is usually much lower.
Considering that much of the population has borderline magnesium deficiency, this is great news!
How Do Minerals End Up In Water?
Water is an amazing solvent, meaning it picks up dissolved solids easily.
As water flows through rivers, streams, soil and bedrock, it picks up trace amounts of substances along the way.
Depending on the geology of the region and local contaminants, the water absorbs different metals, minerals and impurities, including the minerals that make your water hard.
Mineral springs, for example, contain high levels of dissolved solids because of the high levels of magnesium and calcium in the ground.
In general, the more calcium and magnesium the water absorbs, the “harder” it will be.
How To Tell If Your Water Is Hard
If your water is hard enough, you can feel it…
Here are some common signs that your water is hard:
- A filmy feeling on your hands after washing them with soap
- Spots appearing on dishes after they come out of dishwasher, usually deposits of calcium carbonate
- Mineral stains on clothes after the washing machine
- Less water pressure in your home
Over time, hard water can cause serious damage to your home by clogging pipes, wearing down clothes in the wash, damaging appliances, and reducing energy efficiency due to low water pressure.
You may also go through more soap and detergent because it won’t clean as well.
The easiest way to tell if your water is hard is to test it for total dissolved solids (TDS).
Water hardness is easy to measure yourself at home with simple paper test strips.
Simply add the test strip to a glass of water and wait for it to change color.
Match the color you see to the color chart and it will tell you the level of hardness.
Water hardness is either measured in milligrams of hardness per liter of water (mg/L) or grains of hardness per gallon of water (gpg).
Does the Government Regulate Water Hardness?
The U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers TDS and water hardness to be a voluntary guideline.
In other words, the EPA makes general recommendations, but local water utilities choose whether or not to follow them.
The same goes for any other contaminants that aren’t a safety hazard but only cause aesthetic or technical effects, like affecting the taste or clogging plumbing.
How to Soften Your Water and Remineralize It with Healthy Minerals
Whole-house water softening systems are the best way to protect your entire home and appliances from the damaging effects of hard water.
But what if you also want to drink delicious, mineralized drinking water?
In that case, under-sink reverse osmosis (RO) systems can turn your tap into a mineral water oasis.
Cloud Water Filters combine several stages of sediment filters, carbon filters, ion resins, and RO membranes to remove up to 99.9% of contaminants, including excess hard minerals.
Last but not least, the final remineralization stage adds healthy amounts of magnesium and calcium back into the water.
You're left with nothing but pure, delicious, alkaline mineral water!
Cloud Filters also use built-in software to monitor your water quality 24/7.
