Some unknown factor has increased the hardness of the water
entering my laundry. How can we combat this change so we can
produce high-quality linen without jeopardizing production
efficiency? What options are available to me to address this
hard-water problem? CHEMICALS SUPPLY: Steven Tinker, the
director of research and development for Gurtler Industries,
South Holland, Ill., has more than 30 years of experience in
laundry chemistry research, development and marketing. He’s
secretary/treasurer of the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation
Council (HLAC). Water hardness is generally a combination of
calcium and magnesium carbonates and similar salts that are only
sparingly soluble in water. Water hardness is expressed in
grains per gallon (gpg); one gpg equals 17.1 ppm (mg/l) of
calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Usually when the hardness exceeds 4
gpg, laundries use a method of “softening” the water to remove
the calcium and magnesium ions from the water. The most common
method is the use of an ion-exchange resin that exc