Water Softener Question

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holdem

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Oct 4, 2006
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97
Everyone was so helpful with my washing machine problem that I thought this might be the place to ask a question about our water softener. We recently moved from one condo into another condo in the same complex with the same water source. Our old condo didn't have a water softener. The dishes would come out of the dishwasher with a white film on them. Our new condo has a water softener. The dishes come out sparkling clean but when we take a shower it is hard to rinse the soap off. We didn't have that problem at the old place. Any suggestions? Thanks again.
'
 
We have a "whole house" water softener at our place.  Soft water will get everything cleaner, dishes, clothes etc.  It seems difficult to rinse the soap, but that really is not an issue.

When you wash your hair you will be more pleased with the results in soft water too.

What you are experiencing is normal.  After you get used to it you will never want to have hard water again.  (If you go to a hotel on a trip without soft water you will be unhappy with their water.)  ;)
 
  You will notice that with the water softener you can use less soap, shampoo, laundry detergent etc.
 
Perception...

Soap binds tightly to the calcium ions in hard water, which renders it "unslippery."  So if you rinse off under hard water, it feels like you got the soap off right a way. You didn't, it just lost its slipperiness (and its cleaning ability) but it's still there.

With soft water most of the calcium is removed so you have to rinse enough to dilute out most of the soap before you lose the "slippery" feeling.
 
This is interesting to me. I always thought that if the soap didn't rinse off easily that the water was hard. Learn something new everyday. Thanks again.
 
I always thought that if the soap didn't rinse off easily that the water was hard.
Click to expand...

No, Holdem, in fact it's the opposite.  As the others mentioned, when you have hard water it has a lot of calcium.  If it's very hard water, the calcium can build up within pipes and clog things like yard watering fixtures and sink faucets.  In the southwest we tend to have very hard water and people who have swimming pools with fancy fountains in the local natural red rock often end up with white calcium deposits that discolor the rock.  The Pittsburgh area where I grew up also has very hard water.  When a relative moved south to a soft water location she didn't realize that she needed to reduce the amount of dishwasher detergent and ended up with a soapy mess in her kitchen because her dishwasher overflowed.  Cut back on the soap or body wash you use and it will rinse off better.  Look at it as a cost savings because you don't need to spend as much on detergents and cleaning supplies!  ;)

ArdraF
 
holdem said:
The dishes come out sparkling clean but when we take a shower it is hard to rinse the soap off. We didn't have that problem at the old place. Any suggestions? Thanks again.
'
Click to expand...

Consider yourself lucky that you got the softener. Just use less soap. It won't take long until you'll find that even though you might feel a little slippery, the soap is indeed rinsed off.

We have a softener we carry with us in the motorhome and always hook it up at a campground if we are going to fill the water tank.
 
Thanks again everyone. Just used less shampoo and soap in the shower this morning and it rinsed off just fine. This is a great forum.
 
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