JEA's own ZIP code table puts every part of its system in the hard to very hard range. Here is what those numbers mean for shower glass, faucets and toilets, and how to keep scale under control.
If your shower door turns cloudy a week after you clean it, the water is the reason. Jacksonville's tap water comes from deep in the Floridan aquifer, and it carries a heavy load of calcium and magnesium all the way to your faucet.
This guide explains where that water comes from, how hard it is in different parts of the area according to JEA, and the cleaning habits that keep the scale from winning.
JEA draws its drinking water from more than 130 wells that reach the Floridan aquifer, about 1,000 feet below ground. The water moves through limestone on its way, which is where the dissolved minerals come from. JEA pumps it to 39 treatment plants, where it is aerated to remove the natural sulfur smell, and two plants also use ozone to strip out sulfide.
What aeration does not remove is hardness. JEA says plainly that hard water carries high levels of dissolved minerals, mainly calcium and magnesium, and that it is not a health risk. The effect is on surfaces: glass, chrome, porcelain and anything that holds standing water.
JEA publishes a hardness table by ZIP code, averaged from the wells that feed each plant. The values run from roughly 7 to 21 grains per gallon, and JEA classifies every one of them as hard or very hard. A few examples from that table show how much the number changes across the area:
Hard water leaves its mark wherever water dries instead of draining. In Jacksonville homes the usual suspects are easy to list, and the higher your ZIP code sits on JEA's table, the faster they build.
The goal is to remove minerals while they are still soft. Fresh spots wipe away easily with a mild acidic cleaner such as diluted white vinegar or a product made for mineral deposits. Scale that has sat for months bonds to glass and can etch it, and no amount of scrubbing brings etched glass back to clear.
Never use abrasive powders or steel wool on glass, chrome or natural stone. Vinegar and other acids also etch marble and some natural stone, so keep them off stone counters and shower walls and use a stone-safe product there instead.
Jacksonville's climate stretches out the drying time on every wet surface. The airport records about 80 days a year at 90 degrees or above and a rainy season from June through September that brings more than half of the city's annual rain. In a closed, air-conditioned house, a shower that never fully dries keeps depositing minerals and stays damp long enough for soap film to bind to them.
That is why professional visits in this city spend real time on bathrooms. A One-Time Deep Clean treats shower glass for hard water spots and details faucets, and a recurring plan keeps the scale from building back. The deep cleaning guide has the full scope.
The questions Jacksonville homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Jacksonville and surrounding areas with background-checked cleaners and is insured up to $1 million. Re-clean guarantee: if we missed something, tell us by the end of the next day and we come back to fix it. Beyond Clean. TotalCare.
