Water Hardness Meter / Water Hardness Tester

Water is life – an old statement that no one can disagree with. However, a lot of attention should be paid not only to the amount of water available, and its distribution, but also to its quality.  Water is around and inside of the human beings; it is in the atmosphere, on the surface of Earth, under the earth, it has different states (from hard to liquid) and the first association that people get when asked to describe water in simple words, is that it has no color, no taste, no smell and that it is liquid. In the modern society water is taken for granted, not any single day can be imagined without water: it is running out of the tab, it is sold in the bottles, it is used in absolutely all industrial processes, in agriculture, and one of the sad and alarming consequences of that is that water is treated badly, contaminated by very harmful substances, wasted in excessive amounts and there are not enough purifying facilities. 

Water quality is continuously monitored at the water treatment plants and the level of hardness is regulated depending on the application. Water sources usually contain different types of water: surface and underground waters, lakes, rivers, precipitation. Depending on which amounts of natural rocks (limestone, gypsum or dolomite) were in contact with the water, the amount of calcium and magnesium may vary and thus, the value of hardness is never the same and may fluctuate depending on the area, weather, season and even amount of precipitation.

Tab water, for example, which is used for the household needs, should not be too hard, since it may lead to the problems with household appliances and pipes. At the first glance it is not possible to detect whether the water is hard or soft, but after boiling or even using it over some time period, for example, in the kitchen or bathroom, it becomes obvious: scale (a kind of crystallization) on the surfaces, or thin film on the surface of water in the kettle. This is an indication of the so-called carbonate hardness (also known as temporary). Calcium and magnesium bicarbonates under the influence of high temperatures turn into a hard, insoluble sediment – the majority of people are familiar with this process. The total hardness of water consists of both, carbonate and non-carbonate hardness and is measured in mol/m3 or mmol/l.

Not only for the human body the optimal level of hardness is of vital importance, but also for all the appliances that are in contact with water, for example, dishwashers, kettles, washing machines, pipes, boilers, heaters. Not in vain in many commercials various means are offered in order to protect the washings machines against the limescale on the working parts and to prolong its service life. Though excessive amounts of calcium and magnesium are very harmful, it does not mean that the softer the water is, the better. Tab water with very low values may also cause damage, like corrosion, to the pipes, that is why maintenance of the balance is so important. 

To know the level of hardness of water is important in order to adjust the operation of the devices, to select the correct amount of lime scale cleaning agents and the system of filtration and purification in the best way. To get the detailed water analysis is possible in the laboratory, though in a daily life many people try to adjust by buying additional mediums that help to fight against scale. Application of a TDS meter is a professional approach that may be very helpful, but it provides information about all the solids dissolved in the water, so special training is recommended to use the device in the correct way.