Water Softener is an essential part of the house specially if you are using well water, but what is the hardness of your water that matters for any water softener. There are different water softener hardness level, and in this post we are going to address that.
What Hardness of water is Drinkable?
Water Hardness means there are minerals (specifically calcium, iron and magnesium) in the water, and as many minerals are found in water the hardness level goes higher. So you can drink that water but it depends on the taste and mostly tap water which is govt. Is giving on municipal lines drinkable. Where if we talk about the water from the well then it depends on many other factors, you can take it to the lab and they will test the water, and tell you if it is drinkable or not.
What is the Ideal Hardness of Water?
Water Hardness varies from the conditions and the locations, it depends where you are living which water you are using, like if there is municipal water then it could have less hardness and if you are out of city and using well water then hardness can be different.
Water Hardness for needs can be different, if you want water for your lawn then you need more harder water like 150 to 200 PPM.
If you are using it at home for washing clothes, taking bath and for other kinds of use then softer water is more useful because it uses less soap and detergent ideally 40 to 60 ppm perform better for this.
On the other hand if you are losing your hairs and having skin problems then as well you need soften water which is around 20 to 65 PPM.
Water Softener Hardness Level Chart Table
In this table, there are Hardness levels. Which are going to tell you how many minerals are found and on this scale what the hardness levels of water are. These levels are measured in units of GPG (Grains per Gallon) or PPM (Parts Per Million).
GPG
PPM
Hardness Levels
Less than 1
Less than 17.1
SOFT
1-3
17.1 – 51.3
SLIGHTLY HARD
3-7
51.3 – 119.7
MEDIUM HARD
7-10.5
119.7 – 179.55
HARD
10.5-15
179.55 – 256.5
VERY HARD
Over 15
Over 256.5
EXTREMELY HARD
When Water Softener is required?
Water softener is needed when your water hardness is more than 300+ PPM or 15+ GPG. It means your water is much harder and makes trouble for home appliances and will use lots of detergent as well. Most people face skin and hair fall issues if the hardness levels are higher and you are not using water softener to soften your water.
Note: Water Softener water is not drinkable, for drinkable water you must have to filter your water with different methods.
If you are looking for water softener sizing chart then we have different post on that, Please check that as well for more details.
We have described how water hardness level effects and what are levels of water softener hardness are available. If you still have any confusion, we welcome you to comment below and will reply to you soon.
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