The main impact harder water has on my shaving

[Surgeon]

So we moved to a new house this week. Lots of work and all but it's all good in the end.

We were in a house with a well and a water softener and now have municipal water, which means it's quite harder now than what I was used to.

All my soaps lather just fine and are as slick as used to be. The lather "might" be a tad less thick but not enough for me to be sure.

However, the biggest difference I noticed immediately is the amount of soap scum that's left on my razors.

In the old house, I used to wipe them down as a formality after my shaves. Now it's a necessity and they'll need to be cleaned much more frequently as I can see scum starting to build thickly in some hard-to-reach area.

That's it though so it's not that bad, there's no real problematic at all... just my observations.

Carry on!

 

[santamariasteve]

I have hard water. I clean my razors once a week with a little soap and an old soft toothbrush at the time of blade change.

 

[mrwes40]

So we moved to a new house this week. Lots of work and all but it's all good in the end.

We were in a house with a well and a water softener and now have municipal water, which means it's quite harder now than what I was used to.

All my soaps lather just fine and are as slick as used to be. The lather "might" be a tad less thick but not enough for me to be sure.

However, the biggest difference I noticed immediately is the amount of soap scum that's left on my razors.

In the old house, I used to wipe them down as a formality after my shaves. Now it's a necessity and they'll need to be cleaned much more frequently as I can see scum starting to build thickly in some hard-to-reach area.

That's it though so it's not that bad, there's no real problematic at all... just my observations.

Carry on!

A tablespoon of baking soda in your mug, add your razor, pour in some vinegar. Stand back! Best done in the sink. Hit the razor with an old tooth brush. Rinse.

 

[Surgeon]

Thanks for the tip. How does that differ from just using the brush by itself? You're making the water alkaline then turn it neutral again by adding the vinegar (you end up with h2o and a salt) and then you brush it. Just curious.

 

[mrwes40]

Thanks for the tip. How does that differ from just using the brush by itself? You're making the water alkaline then turn it neutral again by adding the vinegar (you end up with h2o and a salt) and then you brush it. Just curious.

Helps break up and loosen the soap scum. IMHO

 

[Gman9537]

Lil bit of toothpaste on that old toothbrush does a fantastic job, IMHO. No chemistry required, and all my ingredients are right there on the counter already.

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[Bookworm]

If I have to use toothpaste, I wipe it on my finger, then put it on the old toothbrush. I don't want my old toothbrush covered in who knows what dipping into my clean toothpaste.

 

[BSAGuy]

Hard water is definitely a downer.

 

[Bookworm]

*shrug* I don't know any different. Learned to shave with well water, no softeners to ruin the taste. Moved to city with municipal/lake water, and it's less hard, but still no softeners.

 

[Snurgblat]

My water is so hard it comes out as cement.

 

[santamariasteve]

Helps break up and loosen the soap scum. IMHO

If you clean your razor weekly, there shouldn't be that much soap scum on it.

 

[dg33]

Very hard water where I live. Makes it tough to lather. My solution has been to get a 1 gallon jug of distilled water and use it to refill a spray bottle I keep on the floor near the sink. A gallon jug lasts 3 months and we also use it for our iron.

 

[Surgeon]

Thank you all for the tips. I'll probably just end-up what I do what I do when a buy a new used razor and scrub it with dish soap and a toothbrush, scrubbing bubbles if really needed. A daily wipe down should take care of most of it and we'll see about the rest as far as frequency goes. Cheers!

 

[Gman9537]

If I have to use toothpaste, I wipe it on my finger, then put it on the old toothbrush. I don't want my old toothbrush covered in who knows what dipping into my clean toothpaste.

Haha agreed... transferring a short-n-curly to your toothpaste tube after a rigorous bathroom cleaning is completely unsat...

But my newest "old" toothbrushes are pretty clean. I don't worry about it too much. Once a brush does something nasty, it's future is relegated to that task and others like it. I wouldn't take a toilet scrubber or a parts washer to my razor...

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[Bookworm]

The toothbrush I use on my razors is mostly used on my razors. I'm just not particularly interested in having Flitz flavoured toothpaste.

 

[R100]

Hard water means cleaning everything more frequently - sinks, shower/bathtub, toilet, etc, including any appliances that use water. My coffee maker craps out after eighteen months or so if I don't flush it with vinegar periodically or use distilled water. I opted to get a cheap maker and just replace it when necessary.

 

[Surgeon]

Yeah, I hear that. It's not that the water here is particularily hard (it's still good quality municipal water), it's just that going from softened-water to this means I noticed a few things...

 

[BigJ]

Sorry! You will have more work cleaning, etc.

 

[Surgeon]

I guess so!

 

[Graybeard57]

Lil bit of toothpaste on that old toothbrush does a fantastic job, IMHO. No chemistry required, and all my ingredients are right there on the counter already.

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As an added bonus, you can then brush your teeth. Cleans and whitens like nobody's business.