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Hard water VS Soft water?????

I have a question for you guys. I live in an area where the water is considered hard. Soap is noticable harder to rinse off. In shaving all things being equal ie.. razor, blade, prep, and technique would soft water be better for shaving than hard water?
Thanks in advance.
 
Soft water would be better for several reasons

1. the minerals in hard water will make it much more difficult to build a lather.
2. the minerals will dry your skin
3. the hard water may also cause the blade to drag, which can lead to irritation.

If its possible try to install a water a softener, it will make life in general better for you
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
You may also want to try lathering with distilled water. Half a coffe mug's worth is all you need to soak the brush and lather up.
 
I have a question for you guys. I live in an area where the water is considered hard. Soap is noticable harder to rinse off. In shaving all things being equal ie.. razor, blade, prep, and technique would soft water be better for shaving than hard water?
Thanks in advance.

I don't have much of a problem with hard water personally, I find all my products work well. But if you are having a hard time, try using bottled water, as Ian said, it doesn't take much and will work quite nicely.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. You have confirmed my suspicions. We have been thinking of getting a Water Conditioner (Softener) for some time now.
 
We have had a whole house softener for close to 10 years now. We have moved a couple time and the softener is always one of the first things we have installed in the new house. In our most recent house the softener was not installed during our first month and I noticed a huge difference especially with my razors and brushes. The soap would just not wash off. My chrome razors looked more satin after one or two shaves. Also my shaves are much more consistent and less irritating. :biggrin:
 
Just make sure you don't use RO water. (reverse osmosis)...If you have anything that is Stainless Steel it will distroy it....

I have one of those 5 gal water dispensers and since I have water testers I have tested the water and it is just about right...The machine has a hot water spout and this sure does make things quick and easy..
 
Just make sure you don't use RO water. (reverse osmosis)...If you have anything that is Stainless Steel it will distroy it....

I have one of those 5 gal water dispensers and since I have water testers I have tested the water and it is just about right...The machine has a hot water spout and this sure does make things quick and easy..

You'll have to explain how RO water is so destructive. Its got a ph right a 7.0 and all the impurities are removed. Unless you specifically buy distilled bottled water all the rest is a product of RO.
 
RO is basically a filter so how does filtered water destroy stainless steel. Considering we run all our heat treat equipment of softened water that is then ran through the RO units and there's lot of SS parts. And what is "just about right " water in regards to mineral content, pH, TDS?
 
If you buy water it is mostly done by RO...but if you look there is other stuff..Minerals added...

this isn't about PH it is about O2 content...O2 will degrade or eat at stainless..

I worked in the carwas business a long time and you might be surprised at how quickely SS will rot when RO is used...

Have you ever wondered why when you go to a carwasy that the no spot rinse is at low pressure?.....It isn't because of cost it is because of what it can do....

RO is the same as distilled as long as it is done with a good system...

Even distilled is bad for stainless....

This doesn't have anything to do with the PH...it has more to do with the 02...and since most RO water you buy has minerals added to help with taste that keeps the 02 from attacking the steel...

I am no chemist but I have see a lot of carwash owners increase the output of the spotless or spot not rinse ...and in the end they pay a lot of money to have things replaced..
 
My area also has extermely hard water, compounded by ancient (rusty) pipes in my house. I've gotten excellent results by adding a small amount of baking soda to the sinkful of water when I shave--better lather, and much less soap build-up. I rinse my razor very thoroughly to minimize any corrosive effects of the high sodium content. Works like a charm for me.
 
Interesting thread. Can someone please document *why* RO water is destructive to stainless steel? High school chemistry didn't prepare me for some water having "more 02" than other water--I suspect the standard ratio of 2 hydrogen to each oxygen molecule still applies...
 
My water is as hard as a rock. I have had no problem making cream or whipping up soap. My shaves are consistanty (or at least usually) good.

It does leave ugly scum/deposits on my razors, which then require a few dunks in Scubbing Bubbles and then all is good with the world once again.

Now that you mention it though, when I was on vacation recently, it was in a location that had soft water. During my trip, my shaves were BBS. Perhaps the water DID have something to do with it?
 
I think your talking about ozone (O3) which is done in some water filtration plants to fight microbiological contamination along with UV. There are home, small and portable O3 units and UV units too. RO on its own only removes impurities from the water (which impurities depends on the membrane size) it does not add oxygen (O2) to water if it did you would get H2O2 which is Hydrogen peroxide and then you'd have a really neat machine.
 
Thanks, Richard. I was, of course, being snarky, which ususally gets me into trouble.

It's my impression that in-home RO is a great way to filter water; the main drawbacks are system cost and waste--every gallon filtered means another few gallons of waste water.
 
Thanks, Richard. I was, of course, being snarky, which ususally gets me into trouble.

It's my impression that in-home RO is a great way to filter water; the main drawbacks are system cost and waste--every gallon filtered means another few gallons of waste water.

Well I've had a Culligan system for about 12-13 years, It wasn't that expensive around $1000. There are 4 filters- Carbon, Pleated, RO Membrane, and a charcol polishing filters. Three get changed 12-18 months (all except the RO) less than $100 bucks for the three filter. I've had to chan ge the RO membrane twice in 12 years (once was because of a chemical contamination spill in my city) and the other was because it was time. There is water that is "waste" form the process, but this can be recaptured and used as grey water (for plant watering and such) this amount of water is greatly reduced in the newer systems. So the cost is in the neighbourhood of $125-$150/year, which is way cheaper than buying bottled water, plus you dont have all that plastic waste from the bottles.

That being said the RO water in my house is just for drinking, I have a water softner for the rest of the house. I wouldn't want to use a RO unit to remove hardness because it would get expensive you'd have to get new membranes frequently depending on the actual hardness of your water.
 
Around 80% of US has some form of hard water. Some are just more harder then others. I just moved and my new place has a lot softer water than my previous, I really notice a difference especially with my lather.
 
But Hard Water tastes so much better - and its cheaper than buying mineral water and better for the environment.
 
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