hard water

- That which contains large amounts of minerals.

Hard water

Water that contains an appreciable amount of dissolved salts of calcium and magnesium. Such salts interfere with the action of soap. In the early days of the twentieth century, most rural water came from wells, and most of it was hard. Indeed, in some places, it was reputed to be so hard that a rock dropped into the well would bounce when it hit the water. Slight amounts of dissolved material in drinking water were often preferred because of the taste, but soft water was preferred for washing hair and clothes.

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Noun

hard water - water that contains mineral salts (as calcium and magnesium ions) that limit the formation of lather with soap

H2O, water - binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent

soft water - water that is not hard (does not contain mineral salts that interfere with the formation of lather with soap)

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References in periodicals archive

Hard Water adversely affects your expensive plumbing fixtures, bathroom fittings, kitchenware appliances and household equipment such as hot water geysers, steel pipes, washing machines, etc due to corrosion and formation of lime scales.

Hyderabad based engineering duo design revolutionary solution to the hard water problem

I recently worked at a Napa County winery that had hard water with so much silica it required a reverse-osmosis (RO) filter system and mixed bed deionization (DI removes all minerals).

The Most Important Tool in Your Tasting Room: DtC sales and wine club sign ups start with pristine glassware

'In addition, when the plant is watered using hard water, a white coating or segmentation (Calcium bicarbonate of carbonate) is formed on the surface of the soil.

Magnetic water use to increase farm produce: Dr Sheikh Ikram

They found that infants in areas with hard water were 87% more likely to have eczema.

Hard Water and Eczema

Hard water contains high levels of calcium and magnesium ions that bind to surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) - which act as detergents or wetting agents - making them insoluble, so they precipitate onto the skin.

Scientists say that tap water could lead to development of eczema

In regions where there is hard water, the surfactants in soap, such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, react with the calcium and magnesium ions in hard water, resulting in precipitation of the surfactant--leaving a film of residue on the skin, shower tiles, pipes, glassware, etc.

Hard water versus your skin

Atopic dermatitis, xerosis, and pruritus are some of the common skin reactions to hard water. Other less-well-defined effects on the skin include clogged pores and acne from surfactant residue left on the skin and altered sebum production.

Hard water versus your skin

The textile dyes for cellulosic fibres are designed to have low solubility in water and these become very difficult to dissolve in very hard water because calcium and magnesium ions reduce the solubility of anionic dyes causing them to aggregate or even precipitate onto the fibre [4].

Study of Cotton Fabric Dyeing by Reactive Dyes in Various Water Hardness Systems

Background: Hard water is thought to play a key role in weakening of hair (not Hair Loss) and breakage especially when travelling is involved.

Effect of topical application of hard water in weakening of hair in men

Hamid casualty in-charge said that people should take vegetables in lunch and dinner besides meat or mutton and avoid soft drink especially the heart, diabetic, and hypertension patients, and also urged the people to avoid from the hard water boil the water before usage.

1000 patients of diarrhea visited DHQ

Generally, pH, alkalinity, hardness, chloride, and carbon dioxide increased from very soft water to the hard water with only two exceptions (alkalinity in soft water and chloride in hard water; Table I).

Influence of water hardness on accumulation and effects of silver in the green alga, Raphidocelis subcapitata