Water Education - Water and Health

Basic Water Types

1 | 2

In general, water for drinking and cooking should be wholesome. It should be both portable and palatable. It must be bacteriologically and chemically safe for drinking and be good tasting. It should be clear, colorless, and have no unpleasant taste or odor.

In our present-day world, we need at least three basic types of water of somewhat different quality, depending on the requirements of each use:

  1. Utility Water. Water which is suitable for use in sanitation and lawn sprinkling; adequate in quantity, bacteriologically safe, but not necessarily treated to the highest quality. Each city has different regulations for what is in their utility water. Utility water comes from your cities water source which means you will also have to pay a water bill. Homeowners often purify their utility water to remove contaminants and make it more suitable for drinking water.
  2. Softened Water. Water which is optimum for bathing, shampooing, personal grooming, laundering, and dishwashing. Since many of these uses demand hot water, fully softened water produces better results with minimum soap and detergent usage, and, in addition, provides conservation of energy required for water heating. If water is not softened and contains many minerals such as calcium and magnesium, it is considered hard water.
running water

Hard water causes many problems throughout the home by leaving scaling on water appliances. Over time when the scale becomes thicker and thicker, the appliance will use more energy to heat up because of the thick scale build up.

This is why softened water is recommended to prolong the life of many appliances in the home. Hard water leaves spots on dishes and leaves bathtubs with film and soap scum. Have you ever noticed when the sprinklers hit your car it leaves very noticeable spots? This is because it is very hard water that has not been treated.

Soft Water – Less than 1 gpg (grain per gallon)

Slightly Hard – 1-3.5 gpg

Moderately Hard – 3.5 – 7 gpg

Very Hard – 7-10 gpg

Extremely Hard – Over 10 gpg

1 | 2
What's this? Check "Remember Me" to access your shopping cart on this computer even if you are not signed in.