Re: Water is way too soft.. what to do?

<driggs@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1131025822.105196.301190@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>I just moved in to my first home and I am getting lots of cokmplaints
> from my girlfriend regrading the shower water. I dislike the
> slipperiness too. I have read a bunch of other posts but still am left
> with questions. From what I understand (and I am new to this)
> softwater is a good thing for my plumbing. I am glad to have softwater
> for that reason. What I am wondering is: Is there a way to soften it
> less? Slower dissolving salt? Some sort of regulation of the
> softening equipment? ...and if there is a way to soften it less, am I
> causing problems in the long run?
>
> One last thing, not only is the slimey feeling there after a shower but
> after my girlfriend blow-drys her hair (10 mins worth of blowdrying),
> her hair still looks wet or like she put gel in it or something.
>
> Any help is greatly appreciated!

To make it easier to understand, let's clear up the terminology. Water is
either soft or hard. If it is soft, it is soft and it is not more soft or
too soft. So now we know that if the water is not soft it is hard. There
are, however, degrees of hardness. Sounds like you want to go from soft to
some degree of hardness. I've heard your complaint from a few others as
they just can't seem to get used to being really clean and not having
minerals deposited on their bodies. Feels like the soap is not rinsed off
because your hand slides so easily. I'm a bit surprised about your
girlfriend's hair though, as mot like the feel and appearance of hair washed
in soft water. Years ago, people used to save rainwater for just that
reason; washing hair.

The salt is just used as a carrier to exchange ions.

You can read more here http://www.lenntech.com/water-softener-FAQ.htm

Water softeners are specific ion exchangers that are designed to remove
ions, which are positively charged.
Softeners mainly remove calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions. Calcium
and magnesium are often referred to as 'hardness minerals'.
Softeners are sometimes even applied to remove iron. The softening devices
are able to remove up to five milligrams per litre (5 mg/L) of dissolved
iron.
Softeners can operate automatic, semi-automatic, or manual. Each type is
rated on the amount of hardness it can remove before regeneration is
necessary.

A water softener collects hardness minerals within its conditioning tank and
from time to time flushes them away to drain.
Ion exchangers are often used for water softening. When an ion exchanger is
applied for water softening, it will replace the calcium and magnesium ions
in the water with other ions, for instance sodium or potassium. The
exchanger ions are added to the ion exchanger reservoir as sodium and
potassium salts (NaCl and KCl).




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