Soft Water!

[parapaul]

Oh. My. Word.

I had a weekend away in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, and the water there is as soft as soft can be. Now, I'm used to shaving with some of the hardest water in the UK, and still get nice lather from it - so when I used the same products and techniques with the soft water my lather just exploded!

No pictures, it was all too soapy and messy to think about that but it was enough to make me seriously think about investing n a water softener, or at least using softened water for shaving regularly.

Anyone that lives in a soft water area and takes it for granted - don't it's something to take real pleasure in.

 

[Miesterio]

How the hell do you tell what kind of water you have?

 

[oldtrout]

How the hell do you tell what kind of water you have?

http://www.google.com/search?q=wate...gLHk4D4Dg&sqi=2&ved=0CDEQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=617

On some maps I have hard water, others soft. If you don't get your water from a well, your municipality should have the info. Contact your Department of water...

 

[taco8slo]

How the hell do you tell what kind of water you have?

They sell kits to test your water, the easiest way is to look at your faucets, if there is a bunch of white mineral build up then you have hard water. If you are showering or washing your hands with soap in and you rinse it off and it still feels a bit slimy like there is soap there still then you probably have soft water...I have hard water, will probably put in a softener some day, never shaved with soft water and I look forward to the experience.

 

[Miesterio]

Based on the info in the last 4 posts. I can say I have hard water. Most water from stores is soft?

 

[athair]

Distilled water from stores is soft. I wouldn't vouch for just any bottle of spring/filtered/whatever water.

 

[77TransAm]

Aw, man. I checked out a water hardness map for Canada and I'm basically on the boarder of "Very Hard" and "Hard". How depressing

 

[oldbluelight]

Now I'm feeling guilty. I've probably dumped 12 gallons of the softest water on the planet down the drain this past week. Due to all the rain we've had my home's interior relative humidity was around 80% and I bought 2 dehumidifiers that I have to empty 3 or 4 times a day. I'll have to save some from the next bucket load and try a lather with it. If you're in a hard water area that's humid one of these devices might have a chance to pay for itself fairly quickly.

 

[type2camper]

Gratuitous Endorsement of Water Softeners!!!

I lived in Oklahoma City in a house I was renting for three years. For about a year and a half, I wetshaved. My lather was good, but then we moved to Utah into a home with a water softener and holy cow, the lather is dramatically different. Not only do I get better lather, but everything is slicker and my shaves are better. It's amazing the difference it makes!!

 

[wazza]

Its because its magic Yorkshire water.
Only the finest council pop comes from the land of Yorkshire.

 

[f86sabjf]

we have a soft water purifier on the house. Broke about six months ago and it got fixed quickly. Couldn't believe all the chemicals you could smell in the water. Our skin is one of the greatest sponges ever don't poison yourself if you can help it.

 

[Big Jim]

Most all if not all bottled water is soft, as is water filtered by reverse osmosis (RO) or deionized (DI) water. Most spring water is soft by nature. Most well water is not, but the degree of hardness varies widely. All or nearly all non spring bottled water is either RO or DI, and usually a very small amount of minerals added back in for flavor (not enough to significantly change its softness).

My tap water is soft enough to not bother with filtered water, but if I needed to, I have a RO filter under the kitchen sink for drinking water and cooking.

When traveling, if I have a really tough time lathering up, I'll use whatever bottled water I have handy.

 

[WetWhiskers]

Now, I'm used to shaving with some of the hardest water in the UK, and still get nice lather from it - so when I used the same products and techniques with the soft water my lather just exploded!

No pictures, it was all too soapy and messy to think about that but it was enough to make me seriously think about investing n a water softener, or at least using softened water for shaving regularly.

Anyone that lives in a soft water area and takes it for granted - don't it's something to take real pleasure in.

I'm right there with you. Started discussions with the county's #1 water guy (a ham radio buddy of mine) on what it would take to put a softener in our hot water line.

Ww

 

[jamesspo]

Absolutely. It makes huge difference. I suspect most of the time when someone reports having serious trouble with lathering, it's because they have hard water. If you have hard water, get a softener! It's worth it for lots of reasons outside of shaving.

 

[cheesepiece]

I'm going to make a video, now that I'm back in Leeds, West Yorkshire, where the soft water is the softest, of me lathering, as Mitchell himself intended, MWF in Yorkshire water. I'd heard this was a difficult soap to lather and so I loaded far more than usual but soon after found out I'd worried unduly. MWF + Yorkshire water = crazy lather