What is soft/ hard water and why is soft preferred?
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Hard water contains a lot of calcium minerals, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and/or calcium sulfate.
These tend to interfere with the action of soaps and detergents.
They can cause visible mineral deposits on glassware and metal cutlery. These are called “hard water spots.”
Certain soaps may react to form insoluble salts with calcium and magnesium. Certain bacteria find such deposits to be palatable. Over time this results in a thin film deposit called soap scum. Note that this isn’t harmful, as disease causing bacteria cannot live very long in such conditions. They’re not adapted to live in that environment.
Over time such minerals may form deposits on taps or shower heads, for example. This interferes with shower heads function causing the spray to be uneven.
(Note however that calcium and magnesium are essential nutrients in the body. So hard water may be slightly more healthy. However there’s generally not enough of either in hard water to fully satisfy daily intake needs.)
Soft water mostly contains sodium and potassium minerals. These are much more water soluble and are less likely to cause deposits. Such deposits can easily be rinsed away due to their solubility. They generally don’t interfere with the action of soaps. Soap scum is less of a problem with soft water.
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