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
aea,
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
liters)—SO~
4 to 10 grains-HARD
11 to 19 grains—VERY HARD
20 grains and over—EXTREMELY HARD
If your water is
SO~,
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
I
I
I
I I
I
Grains of
hardness
o-1o
10–15 15–20
20-25
25-30
over 30
When
using
o
1/4
cup
112 cup
213
CUP
1 cup
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon
for
every 5 grains above
with detergent
(60 ml)
(120 ml)
(160
ml)
(240 ml)
30 (240 ml plus 15
ml
for each extra 5 grains)
When using
1/3 cup
213
CUP
314
cup
1 cup
1
x
cups
1
X
cups plus
I
tablespoon for every 5 grains
with soap
(80
ml)
(160
ml)
(180
ml)
(240 ml) (360 ml)
above 30 (300
ml
plus 15 ml for each extra 5 grains)
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