Why soft Water Is Ineffective

Many of you may have come across this before and wondered why your skin was still soapy no matter how much you rinse. If you ask a water softener spokesman he will tell you it's not the soap, "it's just the natural oils of your skin"... Lies! You can explain to them how you have rinsed and the soap is still sudsing, and they will say "you are using too much soap"... Lies! If you use very little soap it will rinse away easier but that is because the oil on your skin allows it to fall away more freely. But if you don't remove the oil on your skin, you will not remove the dirt that has accumulated in it.

Water softeners replace various kinds of ions in water with sodium ions. So instead of having calcium and magnesium in your water, now you will have mostly just sodium. Sodium water is only soft because that's what the establishment chooses to call it. There are a lot of good things to say about soft water but not here because we've heard all of it. It seems to me, some of the bad comments about soft water have been silenced.

this is sodium stearate otherwise known as the main ingredient of soap. I can't write small numbers but they are supposed to be small.

NaC18H35O2


When water comes in contact with soap it slowly exchanges it's ions with the sodium ion on the soap. That's why the suds in the bubble bath or in the sink slowly dissipate. The result of this reaction is soap scum which carries away the dirt and sticks to your tub and shower. Yeah, I know the second part is bad, but what are you gonna do.

If the water is already filled with sodium ions there is no reaction because the metallic ions are the same. Without this reaction taking place the soap does not break down. Since soap decreases surface tension the soft water is not able grip anything while rinsing across the soapy film. So when using soft water the soap is left on your skin in addition to dirt and oil underneath it.

Let see, so when I scrub my hands after, and before a procedure, my skin is still contaminated with the bacteria from the last patient. Yet the fingernail and skin cultures reveal no bacteria growth after 96 hours!
Your hypothesis is incorrect and your theory is wrong.

reply to post by Violater1

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No combination of antibacterial soap, UV exposure, or biocidal hand soap will kill all the bacteria on your hand, no even all the staph (though it would be of the non-infectious variety in most cases). A culture would still turn up some bacteria. That's why we wear gloves during surgeries and even minor procedures, like suturing, rather than going in bare handed.

As one who has lived in areas with extremely soft water, and extremely hard water, I can say I couldn't' stand the feeling of having soap residue on my skin.
Of course, I couldn't stand having hard water stains on my drinking glasses either.

I just found out recently that diabetics shouldn't drink water that passes through a water softener. I'm not sure why, maybe someone here will know.
My vet never mentioned this before(my dog is diabetic), but I found out from people who have diabetes.

I do use a water softener now, but I have to. The water seems just right to me.

I happen to love soft water and the way my skin and hair feel and look after showering in it. Soft water also is more effective in keeping the hideous mildew smell out of sponges and other damp materials.

We have soft water in our family home and my father was a severe diabetic who religiously drank 8 glasses of water a day but was never told that soft water should be avoided. Maybe recent studies have come out that I'm unaware of but before avoiding soft water due to diabetes I would recommend doing further research. Bottled water is a huge industry and they have done some pretty shady things to get consumers to pay for something that is generally inferior to what they can get for free from their own tap.

I have three residences, each with different types of water - soft, hard and well water. IMHO, it isn't even a close match - soft water is the winner in every aspect.

Jemison

reply to post by VneZonyDostupa

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Yes, I concur. I'm not wanting to get into a peeing contest but what I was referring too was the authors statement of soft water not proving to be an adequate solution.
However, if I am debriding a wound with MRSA, and my skin comes in contact with it, with friction, even Dial soap will remove that organism. A simple C&S will indicate no growth. I do however prefer HIBICLENS.

reply to post by Violater1

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I have not seen any studies on it, but using anti-bacterial soap could kill any microbes regardless of the water you use. So the dead bacteria would not be growing.

If you are using a water softener it may not be working properly. When I visit my brother I can tell when something is wrong with his softener, and he usually needs to add salt to it or clean it out.

reply to post by Jemison

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I'm glad you have good experiences with soft water. I don't want to detract anyone from using, but only to help inform people who have problems what is going on.

If you do have a problem with any sort of microorganism in a sponge or something I would recommend soaking it in water with a splash of bleach overnight. I think that should kill all of it.

I'm not sure about the diabetic issue maybe someone else has an answer about that.

I'm not entirely sure about the diabetic answer myself. I use a shower filter, but not salt to filter my shower water. I'm no sure how much sodium is absorbed into the skin using that method.

I did read an interesting site concerning soft water and health effects here. Perhaps the doctors could have a look at it and explain it better then I.

Sodium supplement can be replaced with a potassium supplement.

I love soft water, my softener quit, could not afford a new one and the filters with the R.O. system are too expensive to replace so often without it so I now use a Berkey for drinking water... it is Great.

Still miss the showers, the better feeling clothes washed with it though.

Potassium stearate has similar properties to sodium stearate but it is used in making soft soaps. I'm not sure if potassium would replace sodium in the soap molecules, but if it does that soap is supposed to be more soluble in water so it may make a difference. I'm not sure what would happen because I've never experimented with potassium.

Water filters are different than water softeners. They remove small particulates from water but do not exchange ions. Water softeners can come with filters but they don't necessarily have to.