Hard vs. Soft Water: What's The Difference?

You may have heard that bathing in hard water can be bad for you, but is that true? What's the difference between hard and soft water?


Read More:
Hard facts about tap water
"Apparently, all tap water is not created equal. Some water is deemed 'hard,' and other is considered to be 'soft.' And here's the confusing part: Hard water isn't better than soft in all situations, and soft isn't always preferable. Confused yet? We explain the ins and outs of each below."

Hardness of Water
"Hard water contains dissolved magnesium and calcium ions. These make it more difficult for the water to form a lather with soap. Temporary hardness is caused by dissolved calcium hydrogen carbonate (which is removed by boiling)."

The Expedited Explainer: Hard vs. Soft Water
"Not all water is created equal. Namely, some is hard (about 85 percent of the water in the U.S.) and some is soft-and the difference is important. It comes down to minerals, which are annoying in some circumstances and helpful in others."
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Special Thanks to Sapna Parikh for hosting this episode of DNews!

Written by: Jennie Butler

[thesaurusrex]

“Hard or soft, how am I supposed to know the difference, they both look the same” I felt that one…😩😭

[VJBT]

Her pacing is just right. Doesn't feel rushed like the others.

[Ethan_Roberts]

Water becomes hard when you excite it.

[postit]

i wonder if dnews reads these flat outdated jokes

[philiproyd]

Speaking of hard vs. soft water: I lived in Colorado for about a year (some years ago) and rented a place that had the hardest water I had ever showered in. The soap would not lather, but my friend from Texas put up such a complaint about the water's hardness that I thought for sure that he was exaggerating the matter. It wasn't until I went with him to Texas that I found that the water was so soft that I thought that I was still covered in soap when I bathed in it. I never thought that water could get that soft.

[alyssawilson]

Hard water happened to us. We moved from one town to another and almost immediately we could taste the difference and feel it. Our scalps now have red rashes and itchy, white flakes. The water burns our eyes too. We installed a shower filter and it was so heavenly to go back to normal. No more flakes or rashes!

[Izzythrills]

I thought they were gonna talk about different water pressure while taking a shower😐

[dulceg]

tbh hard water even mildly hard water for people with eczema sucks. Soft Water please.

[TheSweeny]

Sapna is a great host. I love how clearly she speaks

[Lunto]

i lived in an area of europe with VERY hard water for about three years and hated it. after you wash the dishes or take a shower you better dry off any surfaces or glasses IMMEDIATELY or you will get super hard, disgusting crusts of... salt i guess? or calcium?

it sounds miniscule but trust me: soft water for the win. gosh did i despise cleaning in that place...

[TeddyMrEthio]

@2:44 Boiling water will not cause calcium carbonate to evaporate. Calcium carbonate doesn't even evaporate, instead, it will decompose into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. However, for the decomposition of calcium carbonate to occur, the solution has to be heated to ~600 °C, at which point all the water would have evaporated out. So, instead what you intended to say was people distill water to make it soft and not boil it to evaporate calcium carbonate.

references:
Ciênc. Tecnol. Aliment. vol.27 no.3 Campinas July/Sept. 2007
J. Chem. Eng. Data, 2010, 55 (9), pp 3779–3785

[ksmud]

I like her! She's a great presenter, interesting, engaging, and enthusiastic. (And her voice is easy to listen to: No vocal fry.)

[leticialee]

She speaks so clearly and she's so pretty :). She's a great host

[MultiDude]

Water is not the only hard thing when I look at her..

[SomeOne-srhh]

This host and John Green are the best.

[laink]

the water here in Chile is so hard it's basically solid

[linjoy]

I live in the far North East of Scotland and we have soft water, naturally. It's better for washing not only clothes but yourself, especially hair and skin. When I travel to London where they have hard water, I always feel dirty no matter how much I wash my self. I've also noticed that the local populace have not got the same clear skin that people have back home and their hair isn't as shiny!

[vengervoldur]

2:44 How can one boil off calcium carbonate? Doesn't this qualify as a mineral, and therefore get left behind when the water evaporates? Or does calcium carbonate flash off into a gas before water does? Or was this a inaccuracy in the script?

[ronzac]

Boiling water to make it soft? I guess it doesn't make sense as you've mentioned the hydrologic cycle that allows water to evaporate and leave minerals behind.

[ninjanerdstudent]

Hard water is the reason the bottom edge of my shower curtain turns yellow brown so soon. I really need to stop buying white shower curtains.