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Water Hardness or Calcium Hardness The test for Calcium Hardness is a measure of how "hard" or "soft" the water is. Hardness is most commonly associated with the ability of water to precipitate soap. As hardness increases, more soap is needed to achieve the same level of cleaning. Have your pool water tested for hardness and your pool professional will advise you of the level and any adjustments you need to make. Increasing hardness is simply a matter of adding Calcium Chloride or Hardness Raiser. Hardness may be defined as water that is neither corrosive nor scaling. People say that "water seeks its own level". What does this mean? Water which is under-saturated will attempt to saturate itself by dissolving everything in contact with it in order to build up its content. Water which is over-saturated or too "hard" will attempt to throw off some of its content by precipitating minerals out of solution in the form of scale. Scale, is calcium carbonate which has come out of solution and deposited itself on almost any surface inside the pool. In extreme cases it is deposited as very small whitish crystalline clumps - all over the pool surfaces. How do we know when our water is over or under saturated? We use a good test kit or test strips to measure the chemical levels of pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness. Or we take our pool water to a Pool Professional on a regular basis to test it for us. This service is normally free. If the Calcium Hardness levels are too "soft", the water is under-saturated. If under-saturated, the water will become aggressive as it attempts to obtain the calcium it needs. Very soft-water will actually corrode surfaces inside the pool which contain calcium (like pool plaster) and other minerals to maintain its hardness demand. 22