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Ontario Water Hardness Levels

An instant hot or tankless water heater is extremely efficient.  The system relies on its advanced heat exchanger to quickly heat up water.  Scale and Lime tend to build up faster when water is heated, so to combat this problem a tankless is usually installed with flush valves, which allow vinegar to be pushed through the system dissolving the build up and returning the tankless to its original efficiency level.  This build up is exponentially increased as the grains or water hardness increases in communities and towns throughout Ontario.

Hard Water Causes Inefficiency

Below is an extensive list of Ontario cities and the corresponding water hardness that is present in the water supply.  The higher the number of grains the harder your water is, which, in turn produces more scale and deposits in your water heater, on shower heads, around faucets, and so forth.  A conventional water heater will become much less efficient with time in a hard water situation, and it can’t be cleaned. For this reason we recommend a tankless system that can be cleaned with a vinegar solution, restoring efficiency.

Quick Hard Water Exercise:

  1. Lookup your city and see if you have hard water
  2. Think about how old that 40 gallon hot water tank is in your house
  3. Know that in on average at 7.5 grains of hard water a regular tank loses 2% efficiency a year to due scale build up
  4. That 2% doubles to 4% at 15 grains and so on…..
  5. After you do the math a tankless that is able to be cleaned of all scale becomes very economical

 

CityHardness (grains)Population
Almonte17.52805
Amhurstburg6.56060
Ancaster196718
Arnprior12.28663
Aurora17see Newmarket
Azilda121403
Barrie9.541990
Beamsville15.63864
Belleville634391
Bracebridge25304
Brampton24.258571
Brantford2442053
Brockville7.511302
Burks Falls101200
Burlington947562
Carleton Place5.54956
Cayuga120905
Chatham1319874
Cippawa8.6N/A
Clifford15660
Clinton13.22136
Cobalt4461
Cobourg7.57234
Cochrane182474
Collingwood4.59632
Copper Cliff2N/A
Cornwall719290
Craigment4N/A
Delhi182819
Deseronto8.41314
Dryden3.55900
Dundas1710320
Dunnville213830
Elmira29390
Essex33.43658
Etobicoke8109153
Fonthill15.62495
Fort Williams1N/A
Galt22930
Gannonoque73759
Goderich5.54808
Grimsby86821
Guelph2230652
Hagersville302055
Haileybury21243
Hamilton7.5147943
Harrow49.83112
Hanover133915
Hawkesbury25300
Hespeler26550
Ingersoll24.44269
Iroquois Falls4.52005
Islington16.220137
Kapuskasing63490
Kemptville16.46130
Kenora49929
Kingston7.537776
Kirkland Lake34712
Kitchener4087480
Lansing21N/A
Leamington1417253
Lindsay8.527220
Listowel139907
London25149133
Lucan13N/A
Lucknow16.4977
Meaford122978
Merritton8.5N/A
Midland816268
Mitchell16.21907
Matawa5
Mount Forest252937
New Liskeard163306
Newmarket10.553915
New Toronto8see Toronto
Niagara Falls829250
North Bay124960
North York Twsp.18173099
Norwick141220
Oakville734364
Orillia1019999
Oshawa7.538796
Ottawa3181258
Owen Sound1520688
Paisley19.5829
Paris202984
Parkhill141145
Parry Sound43020
Pembroke215357
Penetanguishene7.5see Midland
Perth45596
Peterborough540913
Picton72265
Port Arthur6N/A
Port Colborne76291
Port Dover13.2N/A
Port Elgin38.41852
Port Hope7.55553
Prescott73553
Preston17620
Renfrew2.512221
Richmond Hill17.272717
St. Catharines740750
St. Mary’s22.81475
St. Thomas11.529300
Sarnia738869
Sault Ste. Marie329847
Scarborough8.5155061
Seaforth17.51496
Shelburne12N/A
Simcoe1216900
Smith Falls56904
Stratford3014604
Strathroy17.55543
Sturgeon Falls23134
Sudbury2.553168
Tavistock30.41893
Tecumseh7.85953
Teeswater32616
Thorold85848
Tillsonburg128925
Timmins219055
Toronto7.5319202
Trenton146120
Twin Province17.5N/A
Uxbridge15.43533
Walkerton8.82651
Wallaceburg6.55822
Waterloo28see Kitchener
Welland819258
Weston109448
Whitby7.519750
Windsor672436
Woodbridge16.211770
Woodroffe22.5N/A
Woodstock2.526041

It’s always a good idea to have your water tested to determine not only water quality but water hardness and this list should be considered just a rough guide.

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Tankless Flushing 139$

Flushing your tankless is essential to maintaining its high efficiency rating. A tankless flush will remove all of the scale and lime that has built up on your heat exchanger saving you money and helping the environment. Give us a call today to schedule your next service.

Scale builds up fast inside a tankless as the water hardness of a certain area increases.  Check out this chart of water hardness in cities around Southern Ontario and see how much your water heater is at risk for scale buildup.

Having a clean tankless is the most important factor in keeping your tankless at its highest efficiency level. If you have had a tankless installed already by a reputable company you will have service valves, but if you paid a bargain basement price for your tankless the contractor probably omitted the valves to save money (they can still be added to the system after the fact). These valves isolate the heat exchanger allowing it to be flushed or cleaned of lime scale, calcium, and general buildup which acts as an insulator preventing the water from absorbing heat more readily. A tankless flush with a vinegar solution will dissolve the buildup effectively reviving the factory level of efficiency.

We at Go Tankless only use food grade citric acid or food grade phosphorus acid to flush the inside of your tankless. This is a potable water system and if any contractor says they use a solution of CLR or some other highly acidic poisonous solution do not let them near your house! The last thing you want is to be introducing poisons to your drinking system.

Our tankless flushing service covers most of Southern Ontario, give us a call and we can schedule a flush for your water heater.  A tankless flushing is a quick process and only takes about an hour.