Free Water Hardness Test

Grains per Gallon (GPG) - A means of expressing the amount of dissolved minerals in water. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 parts per million (ppm).

Parts Per Million - a common term used in water analysis. One part per million (ppm) equals one pound per million pounds of water. Parts per million may be converted to grains per gallon by dividing by 17.1. One part per million is equal to one milligram per liter.

Compensated Hardness - Always used for determining water softener capacity. It takes into account the amount of iron present in the water as well as hardness content. To determine compensated hardness, add three times the iron content in ppm to the actual hardness.

Example: Actual hardness = 45 grains per gallon, Iron content = 3 ppm (parts per million, same as mg/L, or milligrams per Liter). Three times the iron content (3x3)=9 plus the actual hardness - 45 equals a compensated hardness of 54 grains per gallon.

Ion - Electrically charged ions form when any mineral is dissolved in water. (e.g. when common salt (NaCl) is dissolved in water it forms positively charged ions (NA+) and negatively charged ions (CL-). The positively charged ions are called cations and the negatively charged ions are anions.)

pH - This term is used to express the acidic or basic strength of water. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral indicating a balance between acidic and basic elements. Values below 7 indicate increasing acid strength as the pH approaches 0. Values above 7 indicate increasing basic strength as the pH approaches 14.

Please refer to our General Water Report Guidelines and Common Water Problems And Their Corrections and compare your actual contaminant levels to the recommended levels. If you need a more in-depth test which would be for bacteria and other chemicals, please see the bottom of this page. Please read our glossary of Common Water Problems to better understand your specific treatment need. Any professional Water Treatment Business should always ask about this information before they attempt to sell you a system, otherwise how do you really know if you are purchasing the correct equipment for your particular need? There are no gimmicks or hidden fees here, just download the form below and follow the instructions. We will test your water for Total Hardness, Iron, TDS and PH. We will contact you with the results and recommend the necessary Salt-Free Water Treatment System or iron treatment filter to solve your hard water problems.

If you think you have iron in your water, please read our information HERE regarding bacterial iron and follow the directions below to calculate gallons per minute from your well you will include this information on the printable form you mail with your water sample..