Show solving our hard water problems by katharine fisher director of good housekeeping institute what a blessing it is to have at ones command a plentiful supply of water to know that at the turn of the tap clear sparkling water will gush forth good to the taste and suitable for every requirement qui jui rement of cleanliness As right as rain as the old saying goes it is not until we have had to use water which has some undesirable quality that we begin to give the any real thought hard water is the cause of frequent comp complaint faint it is the reason tor ti that tat sticky scum which collects on the dishpan the tha dishwashing machine the bathtub to tc it is caused by minerals which ch the water dissolves as it comes into contact with them in its passage through the ground these min brals are con commonly lionly lime and magnesium laundering with hard water is troublesome too when soap is added to h hard ard water it combines with the minerals and is destroyed enough soap must be added to satisfy all the hardness before i lather can be formed the soap used up in this way is wasted and r a sticky curd that adheres n washed in the flip causing them when dry to be harsh to the touch the curd also causes the clothes to turn gray and sometimes acquire an odor sticky curd when you bathe with hard water the sticky curd takes away from the pleasure of the bath and the feeling of exquisite cleanliness that follows a bath in soft water the scum that forms also leaves around the bathtub a sticky ring that is not easily removed sham cooing the me nair hair soap and ana hard water is just as troublesome as it leaves tho the hair sticky and dull looking instead of clean soft and lustrous hard water also affects the flavor and texture of foods like peas and beans and if such water is used for making tea and coffee some of the flavor of those these beverages will be lost one of the best known examples of what happens when hot water is heated is the deposit of scale which clings tenaciously to the bottom and sides of a tea kettle this scale also presents difficulties in the hot water supply sy system stern it is a poor conductor of heat causes the water heater to burn out and also clogs the hot water piping rain water when the water supply is extremely hard rain water is often caught and stored in cisterns while it is true that rain water as it comes from the clouds is relatively soft and free from minerals in most cases stored rain water acquires an appreciable amount of hardness from the walls of the cistern furthermore rain water flowing over a roof washes the dirt from it and in spite of measures to correct this the cistern is apt to be a dirt trap hard water difficulties can be eliminated in homes today by the installation of a water softener such a softener will completely remove all the lime and magnesium salts and convert the water into one ona that has no hardness A water softener consists of a tan tank k which contains the mineral this tank is connected to the house piping after flowing through the the water leaves the tank and then flows to the faucets from which it is to be used the zeo ite lasts indefinitely but every week or two after a certain 1 amount of water has been softened it must be reconditioned by flushing with a solution of pure table salt salz this reconditioning is easily accomplished by almost any member of 0 the family when a hand operated water softener is used jn in the automatic type of water softener the reconditioning recondition ine is done by an electric motor which is started by a hand switch or by a time clock or a water meter the only attention required for the automatic type is to load the brine tank with salt at infrequent intervals |