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The problem of hard water affects up to 90% of households in the Czech Republic. This water causes limescale, shortens the lifespan of appliances, reduces the effectiveness of cleaning and cosmetic products, and irritates sensitive skin. Therefore, if you treat hard water, you can save a significant amount of money.
Hard water is water with a high content of dissolved minerals, especially calcium and magnesium. The mineral content (i.e., the sum of calcium and magnesium content) is most commonly expressed in German degrees °dH, or in units of mmol/l. These minerals are very important in drinking water; water without minerals (so-called distilled or osmotic) is not drinkable. However, their content cannot exceed a certain limit.
The optimal content of calcium and magnesium in drinking water is 8 °dH or 1.4 mmol/l, which is soft to moderately hard water. This water hardness is beneficial to your health, gentle on appliances, and does not cause limescale. Utility water can be even softer. Hard water is defined as having a calcium content of more than 12 °dH or 2.15 mmol/l. Water with a hardness above 21 °dH is very hard or mineral water and is found in karst areas.
By measuring water hardness, we determine the content of dissolved minerals. There are several methods for measuring water hardness:
If you draw water from the public network, you can inquire about the content of dissolved minerals from local waterworks.
Simple water hardness tests can be purchased in drugstores, but their accuracy is limited.
The most accurate results are provided by a professional water analysis from an accredited laboratory.
You can also identify hard water without measuring, mainly by the limescale on taps and appliances. You can also try the soap test, where you drop soap into a bottle of water and shake it. If the soap foams only a little and rather clouds the water, your water is hard.
As mentioned above, up to 90% of Czech households are estimated to deal with hard water. This is because most of the area has a calcareous subsoil. Therefore, a higher amount of calcium is naturally released into the groundwater. Water obtained from surface sources generally has a lower mineral content. The mineral content in drinking water therefore varies significantly across different regions of the Czech Republic.
Hard water is especially prevalent in the Central Bohemian, Hradec Králové, Pardubice, South Moravian, Olomouc, Moravian-Silesian, Zlín regions, and the Vysočina region. Conversely, the South Bohemian, Plzeň, and Karlovy Vary regions are better off. As for Prague, households that receive drinking water from Želivka (Švihov reservoir) have softer water. This mainly concerns households in the southern part of the capital. The rest of Prague's households have hard water from the Káraný waterworks.
If you need to soften hard water, the solution is the installation of a water softener. However, many people are deterred by the costs of purchasing and operating this device. These concerns are unfounded, as the return on this investment is very quick.
A water softener demonstrably extends the lifespan of appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, boilers, coffee makers, or electric kettles by up to a third. At the same time, you will use up to half as much cleaning and cosmetic products in soft water. You will also save money thanks to energy savings – appliances clogged with limescale are estimated to consume a third more electricity. This mainly concerns appliances that heat water (boilers, electric kettles, coffee makers, etc.). Lastly, soft water is beneficial for your skin and hair and does not leave unsightly stains on taps and dishes.
The operation of a water softener for a family house is relatively cheap – you only need to regularly replenish special salt. If you are still unsure whether a water treatment plant is worth it, use our water softening cost calculator.
Enter your details into the form, and the results will be displayed immediately in the tables below. With this calculator, you can easily calculate costs and identify a suitable model for your application.
The optimal number of days between regenerations is 3-6 days.
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