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Hard water in Florida

Problems with hard water

Hard water is not just worse for your hair and skin. It's expensive. Pick a topic below to see where it comes from, what it's costing your home, and how to fix it for good.

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Scale builds in rings, a little every year, until the pipe is a fraction of its size.

How hard is Florida's water?

Grains per gallon (gpg), USGS scale. City figures from JEA, City of Tampa and OUC reports.

Orlando~7.5 gpg

Jacksonvilleup to 22 gpg

Tampa~10.8 gpg avg

1Step one

Understand hard water

The basics

What is hard water?

Rain falls soft. It turns hard soaking through the limestone Florida is built on, picking up calcium and magnesium on the way to the aquifer.

How hard is my water?

Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando all test hard. See your city in grains per gallon, why your utility doesn't remove it, and what well owners should know.

9 signs of hard water

White crust on faucets, soap that won't lather, stiff towels. A two-minute walk through your house tells you most of what a test will.

2Step two

Negative impacts of hard water

Cutaway water heater: scale-choked element on hard water beside a clean element on soft water

WQRF / Battelle study

Water heaters and appliances

528 grams of scale a year on hard water. 7 grams on soft.

What that scale does to gas, tankless and electric heaters, showerheads and the rest of the house.

Laundry washed in flat water with no suds beside a shirt scrubbed in thick soapy lather

WQRF testing

Soap, laundry and dishes

Up to half the laundry detergent. Up to 70% less for dishes.

Why minerals turn soap into curd, and what soft water changes in the laundry room and kitchen.

Long hair shown rough and dull on one side, smooth and shiny on the other

Everyday feel

Skin and hair

That film after a shower is soap that never rinsed off. It leaves skin feeling tight and hair looking dull. Soft water rinses clean.

A cloudy glass of untreated water beside a clear glass of treated water

What's causing it

Stains, smell and taste

White crust is hardness. Orange stains, a rotten-egg smell or a pool taste usually point to something else. Here's what each one means.

3Step three

How to fix hard water

NSF/ANSI 44

Softener vs salt-free

A softener removes hardness. A salt-free conditioner leaves the minerals in the water. Where each one wins, including when salt-free is the better fit.

Choosing a water company

Eight questions to ask before you buy a softener, and the red flags that should end the conversation.

Your free water test

A technician tests at your kitchen sink and shows you the results on the spot. City water or well water. No obligation.

Otter Pro Plus water conditioner and brine tank

Otter Pro Plus whole-home softener

Soft water at every tap. A metered valve regenerates by how much water you use, so less salt and less water go down the drain.

See the Pro Plus

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Sources for figures on this page

Hardness classification — U.S. Geological Survey. Conversion of 1 gpg = 17.1 mg/L per USGS/WQA/NSF.
Jacksonville hardness — JEA, Water Hardness Levels by ZIP code.
Tampa hardness — City of Tampa 2024 Water Quality Report.
Orlando hardness — Orlando Utilities Commission, Water Services (129 ppm, about 7.5 gpg).
Water heater scale — Water Quality Research Foundation / Battelle Memorial Institute, Softened Water Benefits Study, 2009.
Detergent and dishwashing savings — Scientific Services S/D, Inc. for the Water Quality Research Foundation, Softened Water Benefits Study: Study Findings and Executive Summaries, 2011.

Figures on this page are estimates, not a quote or a guarantee of savings. Your results depend on your water hardness, household size, appliances and utility rates.

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