hard water and shower filters

[cutiebe2]

I am going to college in a month and I am concerned that the water will be hard.
1. how do you tell if the water is hard or not? Maybe this is obvious to others but I just want to be sure.
2. Since I will be using community bathrooms, can I just have a shower filter with me and quickly attach it when I wash my hair?

TIA!!!!

 

[ashiah]

There's an old thread about this that had a map that showed which part of the country has the hardest/softest water. I used to use a shower filter, but I don't remember seeing much of a difference. It's easy to install, but sometimes the original shower head is rusted on and it can be hard to get off.