Before you can decide what to do about hard
water, you need to know if you have it and, if
so, how hard it is.
●
If you live in a municipal area, contact your
water company.
●
If you live in a rural area, or in some suburban areas,
contact your county agent.
The answer will be “you have ‘so many grains’ per
gallon (3.8 liters)” and means this:
O to 3 grains per gallon (3.8
4 to 10 grains—HARD
11 to 19 grains—VERY HARD
20 grains and over—EXTREMELY HARD
If your water is
you have no problem. You
can use soap or detergent as you prefer and forget
all about hard water. If you have HARD water—less
than 10 grains—and you use phosphate detergent,
you also have no problem.
But, if you have more than 10 grains, you will need
to soften your water with either...
1.
An installed water softener in your home, or
2. The use of a packaged water softener.
For information on water softeners, see the
guide below.
Add This Much Water Softener with a Full Water Level
Grains of
hardness
I
o-1o
I
10–15
I
15-20
I
20-25
I
25-30
I
over 30
When using
o
cup
1/2 cup
1 cup
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon for every 5 grains above
with detergent
(60 ml)
(120 ml)
(160
(240 ml)
30 (240 ml plus 15
for each extra 5 grains)
When using
1/3 cup
cup
1 cup
cups
cups plus 1 tablespoon for every 5 grains
—
with soap
(80
(160 ml)
(180 ml)
(240 ml)
(360
above 30 (300 ml plus 15
for each extra 5 grains)
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