The Washington times., 1927-05-09

y where natural saltwater
supply is available, and who enjoy
the countless benefits which such
a water supply provides. are apt to
forget that such a condition does
not exist throughout the entire
country. Unfortunately the supply
of water in much territory in the
United States is hard. But those
who are living in hard-water dis.
tricts need not continue to suffer
the inconvenience consequent to
hard water, as it can readily be
made as soft as any natural water.
The hardness Of water is caused
by the salts Of calcium and mag
nesium carried in solution by It.
The amount Of these salts in the
water depends upon the character
of the soil and rock with which it
has come in contact. In localities
where the ground contains large
deposits Of limestone or such min.
erals as gypsum and dolomite, the
water will be very hard. In other
localities where the ground con.
tains but little of these deposits the
water will be soft. Between these
two extremes are waters with vary.
ing degrees of hardness. which
cause more or less difficulty.
These conditions have been force
fully brought to the attention
Of Good Housekeeping Institute
through the many letters which we
receive from women telling us of
the difficulties experienced in house
keeping through the use of hard
water. The consideration of an
adequate and satisfactory water
supply is of such vital interest to
every home-owner that the Insti-
tute undertook an investigation
which would bring st in direct con-
tact with such homes. We have
recently visited many women in
their own homes, and have talked
over with them the difficulties they
are having with hard water.
As would be expected, laundry
work is one Of the main problems
when using hard water. Whenever
soap is added to hard water, it com.
bi1es with the hardness, and in
doing so, softens the water: but
unfortunately, it forms an insoluble
substance with the hardness which
is commonly called "curd'' from
the nature Of its appearance.
During the soap wash the curd
that is formed combines with some
Of the loosened dirt, and part of it
clings to the clothes which act as
strainer for the wash water that
is forced through them. During
the rinse also the hardness of the
water combines with some of the
soap left in the clothes to produce
more curd. For this reason, hard
water is not suitable even for rims
ing. When clothes containing this
curd are ironed, the heat turns
them gray, and it is practically i'm.
possible to whiten them. Further.
more, this curd causes fabrics to
become harsh and stiff, instead of
remaining soft, with the result that
they wear out more rapidly.
Another problem in using hard
water is in washing dishes. The
soap curd from hard water mixes
with the grease, resulting in a
sticky mass that clings to the
dishes and to the sides of the dish
pan, necessitating frequent changes
of water. Under such conditions It
is difficult to get dishes and glass.
ware clean and bright. More than
that, when the dishes are rinsed
with scalding hot water and left
to dry of themselves, the hard
water remaining on them eyapo-
rates in dryness, leaving all its
dissolved salts as a deposit. This
causes the dishes to acquire a, erav
cast which can be removed only nv
securing. Consequently, the dishes
must be wiped dry with q towel.
and the dish-dryer cannot be used.
Any one who has visited a hard.
water district is familiar with the
difficulties which hard water causes
IN. bathing. 1t roughens the skin.
and greatly reduces the pleasures
and benefits of the bath. After the
bath. the soap curd will be found
chng1ng to the inside of the tub,
and it is difficult to remove. Also.
hard water is not satisfactory for
shampooing the hair.
Hard water does not end here
with the difficulties it causes in
the home. When it is heated, some
OF the mineral salts are thrown
down as scale, the most common
example of which is the stone-like
deposit found on the bottom of
the water kettle. Scale is similarly
formed in the water heater, and
as 1t Is a heat insulator, the ef-
ficiency and heating capacity of the
heater Is materially reduced. AS