Like most places in the United States, Grand Forks has hard water. Indeed, our water is very hard, with a rating of 214 parts per million or 12 grains per gallon of water. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with hard water.

White Vinegar

White vinegar is a miracle product in many ways, but one of its many uses is to blunt the effect of hard water. As an acid, it neutralizes the alkaline calcium. You can pour about a cup of vinegar into your empty washing machine, and run it through a wash cycle to help clear it of limescale. Vinegar can also be run through your coffee maker and other small, water-dependent appliances.

You can also remove fixtures such as your showerhead and have them soak in a bowl of hot vinegar for an hour or more. Vinegar removes the spots on glassware and appliances caused by hard water and can be used as a rinse in the dishwasher.

Lower the Temperature

Lowering the temperature of the water that passes through your water heater also reduces limescale, which is the crust that forms from the buildup of minerals. Limescale is especially problematic in hot water lines.

Washing Soda

You can also do your laundry using washing soda, which is one of the best ways to defeat hard water. Washing soda is made of sodium carbonate, and it gets rid of calcium and magnesium ions that make the water in your washing machine hard. Hard water makes it difficult for soap to lather up properly, which in turn makes it hard to get your clothes as clean as they could be.

Water Softener

Of course, one of the most effective ways to get rid of hard water is to have our plumbers install a water softener system, especially one that treats the whole house. In this system, water comes into your house but first passes through a tank full of resin beads in briny water. There, the calcium and magnesium ions are exchanged for sodium ions, and the water is then allowed to flow either to a fixture or to your water heater.

If you don’t want a whole-house water softener, you can opt for a point-of-use water softener. This system can be installed near an individual fixture such as your kitchen or bathroom sink. This is a good choice if there’s someone in your home on a low sodium diet.

Call Total Care Plumbing

Found on the banks of the iconic Red River and home to the North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks is a great place to live. Our water may be super hard, but our plumbers at Total Care have the solution. Call us today for more information.