How hard is Ventura’s water in grains per gallon?

About 15 grains per gallon of hardness for Lake Casitas water, 26 for Ventura River water and 37 for groundwater, converting Ventura Water’s 2025 averages of 263, 437 and 637 mg/L at 17.12 mg/L per grain. All three are very hard.

What share of Ventura homes are rented?

About 44 percent. The Census Bureau puts the owner-occupied share at 55.9 percent for 2020 to 2024.

How old are Ventura’s homes?

More than 82 percent were built before 1990, according to the City’s Housing Element, with the oldest in the western and central parts of the city.

Ventura floor care, by the numbers

The numbers this site relies on, gathered on one page with their sources and dates, so they can be checked or cited.

Published October 8, 2026, by Ventura Carpet Cleaners. About 4 minutes to read.

Short answer

Ventura’s water is very hard from every source: Ventura Water’s three sources averaged 263, 437 and 637 mg/L in 2025, or about 15, 26 and 37 grains per gallon. More than 82 percent of the city’s homes were built before 1990, 55.9 percent are owner-occupied, and national carpet cleaning prices run $75–$125 per room, with HomeAdvisor’s average job at $183.

Water hardness by source

Hardness is measured in milligrams per liter as calcium carbonate, and the U.S. Geological Survey calls anything above 180 mg/L very hard, so every source below qualifies. For setting a water softener in grains per gallon: one grain per gallon is 17.12 mg/L, since a grain is 64.8 milligrams and a gallon is 3.785 liters, so the USGS line falls at 10.5 grains.

Source	Average, 2025	Grains per gallon	Notes
Lake Casitas (Ventura Water)	263 mg/L	15.4	Mainly west and midtown
Ventura River (Ventura Water)	437 mg/L (424–463)	25.5	Mainly west and midtown
Groundwater, three basins (Ventura Water)	637 mg/L (489–911)	37.2	Mainly east and midtown
Ojai wells (Casitas Municipal Water District)	412 mg/L	24.1	Blended with Lake Casitas water at 265 mg/L

Homes, and who lives in them

Measure	Figure	Source
Homes built before 1990	More than 82 percent	City Housing Element (2023)
Owner-occupied homes	55.9 percent, 2020–2024	Census Bureau
Rented homes	About 44 percent	Census Bureau, by subtraction
Median owner-occupied home value, 2020–2024	Ventura $827,300; Ojai $1,016,200	Census Bureau
Ojai population	7,637 in 2020	Census Bureau

When each neighborhood was built

Neighborhood	Houses	Built
Downtown	Victorians and Craftsman cottages	Late 1800s to the 1930s
Westside	Oil-field worker cottages	Mostly 1920 to 1930
Pierpont	Beach cottages on sand lots	Laid out in 1925, built up from the 1950s
Ventura Keys	Houses on the channels	From the early 1960s
Midtown	Craftsman houses, courts and fourplexes	Early 1900s to the 1960s
The Hillsides	Hillside modern houses	1960s and 1970s, many rebuilt after 2017
East Ventura	Postwar ranch tracts	From the mid-1950s
Montalvo	Neighborhoods by the Santa Clara River	After the Second World War
Ojai	Valley houses on very hard water	Renamed Ojai in 1917

Illustration of 1950s single-story ranch houses with attached garages and front lawns along a wide street, mountains in the distance. — Illustration: 1950s single-story ranch houses with attached garages.

The Thomas Fire and the rebuild

The fire reached the city’s hillside neighborhoods late on December 4, 2017. Inside city limits, the City counts 504 homes destroyed and 140 damaged, and by November 2025, 404 rebuilt homes approved for occupancy. New carpet in a rebuilt house has the full table.

National cleaning prices

Job	National figure	Source
Carpet, per room	$75–$125 per room	HomeAdvisor
Carpet, per square foot	$0.20–$0.40 per square foot	HomeAdvisor
Carpet, average job	$183; normal range $123–$242	HomeAdvisor
Carpeted stairs	$2–$5 per step	Angi
Stain removal, pet stains included	$40–$300	Angi
Fabric sofa	$100–$300	HomeAdvisor
Tile and grout	$0.50–$3 per square foot; a $100–$200 call-out minimum at some companies	HomeAdvisor
Wood floor cleaning	$0.49–$0.61 per square foot	Homewyse

National figures and estimates, not a price for your job. The price is confirmed before any work.

Care intervals and drying times

Measure	Figure	Source
Carpet cleaning, typical household	Every 12 to 18 months	Shaw; Engineered Floors
Damp after hot water extraction	8 to 24 hours	Stanley Steemer
Drying wet materials	Within 24 to 48 hours, to prevent mold	EPA
Indoor humidity	Below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50	EPA

Rules and deadlines

Rule	Figure	Source
City business licenses	Expire June 30 each year; penalty on renewals paid from August 1	City of Ventura
Deposit back, with deductions itemized	Within 21 days of move-out	Civil Code 1950.5
Copies of cleaning and repair bills	Not required when those deductions total $125 or less	Civil Code 1950.5
Landlord photos at move-in	For tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025	Civil Code 1950.5
Every mandatory fee in the advertised price	Since July 1, 2024	Civil Code 1770(a)(29)
Flooring work without a CSLB license	Only under $1,000, with no permit and no employees, since January 1, 2025	Business and Professions Code 7048

General information about California law, not legal advice.

Sources

Every source read or re-checked in October 2026. Neighborhood dates come from the sources on each neighborhood’s page.