Pet Peeve of the Week: Soft Water

While showering in the Marriott during my stay in New Jersey this week, I was both happy and annoyed. Happy in that I had at least one idea for the blog this week (how horrible soft water is), but annoyed in that I was having to expose myself to its grossness in the first place.

I'm not sure if there is this "hard water vs. soft water" issue in other countries, but in the U.S., there are varying levels of dissolved minerals in our water across the states. "Hard water" contains higher percentages of the minerals - and therefore is supposedly harsher and "less clean" (if you are interested in learning more on this nerdy subject, here's a more detailed explanation). However, if you are like me and have always lived in areas that only had hard water, when you go to a place with soft water, you are driven insane by the feeling of sliminess all over you after you get out of the shower. You wash your face with soap and then rinse and rinse and rinse and rinse because it still feels like the lather is on your skin. And when you towel off? It's maddening - you're positive that there's a thin layer of invisible scum on you. Forget drinking it!

Yet after a little bit of research on this topic, it is apparent that those who have grown up in soft water areas have a hatred of hard water. They claim that they cannot feel fresh when showering in it and that it is so rough that clothes or bedding washed in it will be coarse to the touch, and will apparently degrade 15% more quickly. I say that those people are wimps!

I am glad to be back and to have rinsed away the NJ scum water off of me. And no, I didn't see Tony Soprano while I was there, so I can't tell you if he's still alive or not.

- e