Soft Water in Sale

I used to live in Essex and cleaning the bathroom was a completely different experience compared to here in Sale and Altrincham.

The main difference is hard and soft water.  In Cheshire we have soft water and it causes quite a few benefits.

Hard water is created when the water collects some of the minerals from the rocks it travels through.  These minerals are not harmful to consume, and it may be an effective way of getting these into your diet.

When we wash with soft water it is far more able to bring out the effectiveness of the soap so less soap is needed and it will lather better.  For those that do not like washing in hot water for fear of shrinking clothes soft water can clean nearly as well cold as hot hard water.

Appliances can be damaged by hard water as the minerals are gradually deposited on them which can damage plumbing over time.  Shower screens can collect deposits and become very tricky to clean.

Soft water has a higher sodium content which can have negative effects for those on low sodium diets.  The sodium chloride is added to soften the water and it can be harmful to plants when watering them hence why we are always advised to water with rainwater.

We are told that ‘soft water can suspend soap more efficiently therefore reduce mould’ by the water softener companies.  In my experience we have far more mould forming in Trafford than I have ever seen in a hard water area but no limescale to fight.

So there are positives and negatives but we have soft water here for now.