How hard is the water in Braxton County, WV?
9.9 grains per gallon
A softener is worth it here.
The median hardness measured in Braxton County, WV is 169 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 9.9 gpg. That is hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 2 samples at 2 sites between 1997 and 1997, drawn from every sampling site in the county, wells and surface water together.
How much it varies here
Half the sites came in between 9.8 and 9.9 gpg. The whole middle of that range gives the same answer, so a test of your own tap is unlikely to change it. Confidence in the county figure: low (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 9.9 gpg a softener is worth getting, mainly to protect the water heater and cut soap use. Get at least two quotes, ask each installer what grain capacity they are fitting, and check it against the sizing table below.
More on sizing a softener for your household.
What a softener would cost to run
For a household of 3, a 24,000-grain unit covers a week between regenerations. Expect about 216 lb of salt a year (6 bags of 40 lb, about $39), and roughly 2,346 gallons of regeneration water. Installed, most units run $1,000 to $4,500; spread over 15 years with salt, that is about $139 a year.
Sizing at 9.9 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 594 | 24,000 | 72 lb |
| 2 | 1,188 | 24,000 | 145 lb |
| 4 | 2,376 | 24,000 | 289 lb |
| 6 | 3,564 | 32,000 | 434 lb |
Braxton County against the rest of West Virginia
Among the 54 West Virginia counties with data, Braxton County is number 8 of 54 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 50% of counties.
Softest in West Virginia: Calhoun County at 0.3 gpg. Hardest: Jefferson County at 20.4 gpg. Closest to Braxton County: McDowell County (9.7), Doddridge County (9.6), Greenbrier County (9.5).