Question: I think I have hard water because it just doesn’t feel right, but how do I know for sure?
Answer: There are a few signs of hard water that you can look for…
#1: Do you have white scaling or powder on your dishes that won’t scrub clean? Nobody wants to see ugly residue spots on their clean dishes, especially right after they took the time to wash them. If you have hard water, calcium deposits will build up inside your dishwasher, on your glassware, and on your dishes. Although this calcium residue is not harmful, it is not particularly pretty to look at.
#2: Do you have trouble getting soap to lather? The name “hard water” actually refers to the amount of difficulty it takes to clean using hard water. If you find yourself having to use a lot of extra soap to get the bubbles you need for cleaning, it could be due to hard water. Naturally, all the extra costs that come along with using more soap will add up over time, so keeping your hard water around may be costly.
#3: Get your water tested for FREE! The only way to know for certain whether or not your water is hard is to test it. But who do you know that can properly test your water? We can–FOR FREE!
Just bring a sample of your water to Peterson Salt in Hopkins, MN, and we will test your water at no extra cost. The water test requires two samples–one hot water sample and one cold water sample. Make sure to take these samples from your bathroom sink. The bathroom is an area of the home where soft water makes arguably the biggest difference (due to the shower, bath, toilet, etc.) so if you have a working water softener, this sink will be the biggest sign of it.
Fun fact: kitchen cold water in 90 percent of homes is NOT softened because people actually prefer the taste of hard water. (Plus it contains vitamins and minerals!)