These hardness deposits can have a white or greenish color to them. In addition to all of these annoyances, some people do not like the taste of hard water. Even though hardness can cause plumbing nightmares, hardness is also desirable because it reduces corrosion rates in our pipes. Unlike hard water, soft water with few positive ions is more reactive to picking up cations such as metals from pipes or the surrounding environment. The calcium coating on the inside of the pipes can also help reduce corrosion.
Some homeowners actively try to soften their water using a number of different systems.
The sodium enters the drinking water instead, which can also affect taste in large quantities. Sometimes this system is used only for hot water heaters so extra sodium is not drunk, but expensive pipes and equipment are protected. Another softening method is a lime-soda process, involving the reaction of lime and soda ash reacting with hard water producing a insoluble precipitate with calcium and magnesium ions. These ions no longer interfere with cleaning soaps, but the precipitate can still leave films and be drunk. Humans can increase the amount of hardness in waterways in a few ways.