Crusader Pro - Water Hardness Measurement; How Water Hardness is Measured

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Understanding How Your System Operates
Hard water is one of the major threats facing the American home in the 21st century. Hard
water can coat you, your family, your home, and your appliances with thousands of pounds
of inorganic mineral rock-scale each and every year. Hard water slowly destroys everything
it touches; if left untreated, hard water costs you money, ruins your lifestyle, and can even
lower the value of your home.
No one needs to tell you that you’re living with hard water though. Soap doesn’t lather ea-
si-ly, glasses are cloudy after washing, a ring forms around the bathtub, faucets and shower
heads are crusty, laundering results are poor, and there are many other easily recognizable
signs.
There are several degrees of water hardness. Even moderately hard water can seriously
damage the plumbing system in your home and, in time, cause inconvenient and expensive
problems.
Hard water is a poor cleaner because it is loaded with a variety of impurities. These dissolved
impurities react with certain chemicals found in soap to form a gummy, insoluble curd that
clings stubbornly to everything it touches. The ring around your bathtub is curd. That same
curd causes your hair to become dull and hard to manage.
Soap curd clogs skin pores and prevents your natural oils from properly moisturizing your skin.
This dryness causes itching and can also aggravate skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema,
and acne.
Soap curd is especially noticeable by the scummy lm it forms on dishes, glassware, walls,
and oors. Hardness and other dissolved solids combine to form the residue you see as spots
on glasses, crockery, cutlery, and shower enclosures.
How Water Hardness is Measured
Water hardness is measured in imperial Grains per Gallon (gpg). A grain is the weight of an
average dry grain of wheat, approximately 1/7000th of a pound.
Soft Water 0 - 0.5 gpg
Slightly Hard Water 0.5 - 3.5 gpg
Moderately Hard Water 3.5 - 7.0 gpg
Very Hard Water 7.1 - 10.5 gpg
Extremely Hard Water 10.5 gpg and greater
Crusader Pro, Deluxe, & Enhanced Systems Owner’s Manual 2020