Thread: Hard Water

There's definitely a difference, although I'm not sure I would say it's "harder to get a lather" with hard water. Maybe just at first. It takes a bit more time, and you need to load the brush more. When I was starting out, I thought my problem with lathering was the hard water, but after I while it became obvious that it was just my technique (and patience).

I find hard water makes more of a difference when it comes to the upkeep of razors and paraphernalia - there's way more soap scum that sticks to everything, which is difficult to clean, and corrosion can happen faster. I don't lather with distilled water, but I always keep some around for when it's time to give my gear a thorough cleaning.

If you have really hard water getting a good lather from even hand soap can be a challenge. You need to use way more product. If you have water like that (I do) get some liquid, pure, green soap and see how much of the stuff you need to get it to lather and then try same with RO or softened water. The difference will be shocking.

I learned one lesson on why some soaps tend to be more temperamental with hard water than others by a chance conversation with a local soap producer. During this conversation we got onto the topic of hard water and he seemed largely ignorant of the fact that soaps can have issues with lathering in hard water. As we discussed this issue he realized that he probably hasn't had many complaints simply because he formulated his soaps with water from the St. Louis area, water that is notoriously hard due to the prevalence of limestone in the area. Essentially he minimized the hard water issue because he and his wife, unintentionally, tested their soaps with relatively hard water.

Originally Posted by joelkerr

There's definitely a difference, although I'm not sure I would say it's "harder to get a lather" with hard water. Maybe just at first. It takes a bit more time, and you need to load the brush more. When I was starting out, I thought my problem with lathering was the hard water, but after I while it became obvious that it was just my technique (and patience).

+1

Once you modify your technique, you shouldn't find any real significant difference.

Originally Posted by celestino

+1

Once you modify your technique, you shouldn't find any real significant difference.

I can't agree. it's like saying I drive a gas guzzler and can't afford the gas so I got a second job just to pay for the gas and now I can afford it. The problem of the gas guzzler is still there and similarly hard water raises it's head in many ugly ways. You will never get the quality of lather no matter how much more soap you add or water unless the soap is formulated for hard water. Hard water does unpleasant things to soap as well as your skin and there is no way around that. Of course it also destroys appliances and water heaters and your pipes too.

I've lived with this issue for over 30 years. If you have hard water do yourself a favor and buy RO water at Wally World. It's cheap and a gallon for shaving lasts many shaves. You can also buy a tabletop distiller for around 200 bucks which can be used for other things too.

Hard water contains a variety of minerals, but the most common ones that react with soap to form soap scum are calcium, magnesium and iron. In order to minimize this effect, some soap makers include chelating agents such as EDTA and citric acid. These chelating agents react with the metal ions to form stable compounds that are soluble in water; calcium, magnesium and iron compounds that are insoluble. When you add a citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange) to your soap, you are taking advantage of this effect.

The best way to improve a hard water situation is to remove the "hard water" minerals. This can be done in several ways.

A common water softener uses ion exchange resins that are precharged with sodium ions. When water passes through the resin bed, the calcium, magnesium, and iron ions are absorbed and sodium ions are released. This helps the soap scum issue, but the water will still have high conductivity. The resin bed is recharged by backwashing and then running salt water (brine) through the bed to remove the metal ions and replace them with sodium ions. If you are on a medically-prescribed, low-sodium diet, water softened in this manner may not be recommended for drinking.

The next improvement is to use a Reverse Osmosis (RO) filter. Normally, such a unit contains prefilters that filter out silt and other insoluble debris from the water. Then an activated carbon filter will absorb organic materials and react with any chlorine or chloramine added by the water company. These later two chemicals will damage the RO membrane. Finally, the water goes to a membrane that has pores so fine that small molecules like water will pass through, but larger mineral molecules will be blocked. Some smaller mineral molecules may pass through. A disadvantage of this method is that a portion of the incoming water flushes away the minerals that are blocked. The finer the membrane, the purer the good water will be, but the less efficient the unit will be. Components of the unit have to be replaced periodically, depending upon usage. This is the type of technology often used by stores who sell jugs of water. Some commercial bottled water manufacturers such as soft drink companies may use this method.

Then there is distillation. Water is boiled in a pot still and then the resulting vapor is condensed to form water free of minerals. The disadvantage is the still has to be cleaned periodically to remove minerals and there has to be a source of heat to boil the water. Distilled water is great for use in steam irons and cool mist room humidifiers as essentially all the minerals have been removed.

If you do have hard water, adding a whole house water softener will improve the water you use for showering, clothes washing, etc. as well as shaving. Installation and maintenance of whole house water softeners is not cheap. As mentioned earlier, drinking softened water may not be good for those on a restricted sodium diet.

You can purchase a small RO unit for $200 - 300, including a small pressure storage tank to produce water for shaving and for drinking. I have two such units, one for drinking water and one to produce water for use in my aquariums.

A countertop water distillation unit will be in the same price range as a small RO unit.

The simplest way is to purchase RO water or distilled water from your local store. Remember that you do not want spring water. Although spring water may be great for drinking, it may still contain the same minerals you are trying to eliminate from your shaving lather.

Yes hard water matters. But you learn to live with it.

I just got Glide and opened it for Christmas in S. Carolina. Fantastic soap.
Got home to Houston. Now a really good soap. Just not as good.

Early on I tried distilled water. Tried a jar of citric acid. Both worked, but aren’t worth the hassle.

“ Does hard water really make it harder to get a good lather? If so, Should I use distilled water instead?“

Having travelled expensively for work:

1.) Yes, and 2.) that depends.

1.) Some soaps deal with hard water better than others, but I have never stayed in a region with extremely hard water long enough that I felt the need to use distilled or bottled water.
I also found that better hotels in hard water regions may have water softeners installed anyway.
2.) If I were living in a region withh extremely hard water I would probably consider a water softener as well, because hard water affects more than just the shave.


B.

I've yet to try bottled, RO, or distilled water, even though I've dealt with water, so hard ya gotta chew it before swallowing it.