What is Hard Water

How does water become hard?

Naturally soft rainwater absorbs calcium and magnesium minerals whilst flowing through the ground, these minerals that cause the water to turn hard. When heated, these minerals react and cause limescale in your home.

Hard rocks, such as Granite are so hard that water cannot permeate through, so rainwater will simply run-off the surface and absorb fewer minerals along the way, known as surface water. Areas with hard rock formation such as Cornwall, Wales or Scotland will naturally have softer water.

Inversely, soft rocks, such as Limestone are highly permeable and the water passes through, known as ground water. As the water passes through it absorbs minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. The more contact with soft rock formations the harder the water becomes.

So, slightly confusingly, softer rock means harder water.

How hard is my water?

Water hardness is typically measured in parts per million (ppm) and is categorised according to this scale:

We are lucky to live in a beautiful area of the country, however due to the high levels of limestone and chalk, we have very hard water. In the area we cover we typically see water hardness ranging from between 280-320 PPM.

What are the impacts of hard water?

High levels of calcium results in a build-up of limescale. Hard water and limescale have several impacts:

Appliances regularly need replacing
Time spent cleaning and number of products required
Hair and skin become dry. It can aggravate skin conditions such as Ezcema
Unseen limescale build up in pipe work can significantly impact heating efficiency
Costly repairs and maintenance