If your towels feel like sandpaper and your white shirts keep going gray, your washer might not be the problem. Your water is.
The Lehigh County Authority lists Allentown's water at 13 grains per gallon of hardness. Parts of the Central Lehigh system run 12 to 18. That's about 220 milligrams per liter in Allentown, and anything over 180 mg/L is classified as very hard water.
What “hard water” means
Hard water carries dissolved calcium and magnesium. Lehigh Valley groundwater picks these up from the limestone under much of the region. The minerals are safe to drink. They're tough on laundry.
Hardness by Lehigh County system, from the LCA's reports:
| System | Hardness (grains per gallon) |
|---|---|
| Central Lehigh | 12–18 |
| Arcadia West | 14 |
| Allentown | 13 |
| Beverly Hills | 13 |
| Emmaus Consecutive | 11 |
| Upper Milford Central | 7–11 |
| North Whitehall | 3–10 |
| Washington Township | 5 |
Bethlehem and Easton draw from different sources, so check your own water provider's annual quality report for your number.
What hard water does to your clothes
- Stiff, scratchy towels. Minerals build up in the fibers. Towels lose softness and soak up less water.
- Gray or yellow whites. Minerals bind with detergent and dirt and redeposit on fabric as a dull film.
- Faded darks. The same film sits on black and navy clothes and makes them look washed out.
- Detergent that doesn't work as well. Calcium and magnesium tie up part of the soap, so less of it goes toward cleaning.
- Buildup in your machine. Scale collects in the drum, hoses, and heating element over time.
5 fixes you can try at home
- Don't just add more detergent. Extra soap in hard water often leaves more residue, not cleaner clothes. Use the label's dose for a full load.
- Add a water conditioner. Half a cup of washing soda (sodium carbonate) or borax in the drum helps soap work in hard water. Check fabric care labels first.
- Skip fabric softener on towels. It coats fibers and makes towels less absorbent. Combined with mineral buildup, it's a big reason towels feel stiff.
- Strip your towels once in a while. Wash them hot with washing soda and no detergent to pull out old residue, if the care label allows hot water. Run a second rinse.
- Consider a whole-house softener. If your water is 10+ grains per gallon and you do a lot of laundry, a softener fixes the problem at the source. It's also the most expensive option.
Or skip the problem entirely
If you'd rather not fight your water every week, hand it off. Lux Laundry picks up across Allentown, Whitehall, Emmaus and the rest of the Lehigh Valley. We wash in commercial machines at our Catasauqua facility, fold everything, and bring it back.
It's $2 per pound with free pickup and delivery. See our laundry pickup and delivery service, our wash and fold laundry service, or laundry pickup and delivery in Allentown. Want a number first? Check laundry service pricing.
Schedule a pickupFrequently asked questions
Is Allentown water hard?
Yes. The Lehigh County Authority lists the Allentown division at 13 grains per gallon, which falls in the very hard range.
Does hard water ruin clothes?
It doesn't destroy them, but it makes fabric stiffer, dulls colors, and grays whites over time.
Should I use more detergent with hard water?
Not much more. Adding a water conditioner like washing soda does more good than doubling the detergent.