Although the telltale signs of hard water are obvious, it takes a
little homework to find out just how hard your water really is. If you're
served by a municipal water company, call the city offices or the Superintendent
of Water and ask for the test results. If they quote the quantities of various
minerals in parts per million (ppm), you can easily work out the conversion
of ppm to gallons per million (gpg) by dividing the quantity of ppm by 17.1.
If your water is supplied privately, you'll probably have to test for hardness.
In some areas, city or county health departments offer testing. If yours
doesn't, you can have it tested by an independent water-testing lab or a
water conditioning company, but be advised that the latter has a stake in
the outcome and may offer free testing as a come-on for selling you equipment
you may not need. Many softener companies will hard-water test a mailed-in
sample for free; some will send you a do--it-yourself test strip kit.
If you have a well, it is very important to test your water--not just for
hardness but for safety. Though the need varies depending upon the source,
check it at least once for mineral content, lead and radon (where radon
is a threat) and once or twice a year for bacteria and nitrate. If you have
concerns about contaminants in well water, contact your local health department
for recommendations.
You can ask your water utility or the state health department for names
of independent testing labs, or look under "Laboratories" in the
Yellow Pages. A solid, affordable testing option is to contact a mail-order
laboratory, such as National Testing Labs (800-458-3330), which offers a
74-item check of inorganics that includes hardness minerals for $94; for
$139 they'll check an additional 20 pesticides, herbicides and PCBs. They
supply you with a sample kit that you return by mail. With your results,
which arrive in about 3 weeks, they include a brochure on the type of corrective
actions you should consider. Another similar lab is Suburban Water Testing
at 800-433-6595.
--Don Vandervort
