1.5grains of hardness in the Cedar and Tolt water Seattle delivers to the city, Shoreline, Bellevue, Kirkland, Tukwila and Burien. Renton's wells run about 4.
Soft water is the whole story
Technicians east of the mountains fight scale. We fight the opposite: water so soft and so low in alkalinity that it dissolves what it touches. Heater elements etch and leak to ground, pump seals wear, pH swings after every refill. Most of what we repair traces back to it, and most of what we recommend is about putting minerals back on purpose.
- Calcium at every fill
Hardness increaser to 150–250 ppm before the heater runs for long. We dose and write the number down.
- Alkalinity first, then pH
At 15–25 ppm from the tap there is no buffer. Alkalinity to 80–120 ppm stops the pH swinging.
- Dry cabinet, greased terminals
Six wet months a year. We dry the bay and protect the heater terminals on every visit.
- Surge check after every outage
Old services let surges through when the power comes back. A protector at the disconnect is cheap insurance for the pack.