We have hard water. It tastes great, it doesn't feel slimy when trying to get the soap of of my skin and I can get my hair cleaner. I wouldn't have a water softener.

We were visiting relatives over thanksgiving and they had soft water and it made my hair look AMAZING. We actually have a softener at home, but don't use it, so our water is hard, hard, hard. That trip has made me want to turn that back on though. :)

We have hard water. I've only experienced soft water once in my life, and it was kind of a bizzare experience. I dont love hard water, but I guess I like it more than soft.

Our water is not softened, does not need to be. I guess it's got more minerals than if we had a softener, but after the stuff we had in NC it's a treat. Used to have to attack the toilets with a pumice stone to get the mineral ring off, and it wrecked coffee makers. That was with the softener.......without it I think pebbles would have come out of the faucet.

How does soft water kill plants as was mentioned above?

I am confused. I have hard water and its terrible. Why dont people like a softener and how else can you get rid of all the calcium build up and skin dryness if you dont get a softener?

Currently living with soft water, which feels nice on the skin, but I miss the fresh crisp taste of hard water -- even with the calcium build up. The trick to dissolving hard water calcium is scrubbing it with white vinegar. Amazing all the things that vinegar can do!

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

so I currently have hard water and I don't mind it but I don't like that it leaves water stains on the glass shower doors and on the windows of my cars after i wash them I see that people have said to use vinegar or pumice stone fot the toilets so does anybody have any recommendations for the glass

@mwbryant, the installer for our shower door in NC treated it with RainX, which helped. I didn't repeat the treatment because it's nasty stuff, but I found that if I sqeegeed and dried the door faithfully after at least every other shower, it stayed clear. Quickly became habit. We used to always have to dry off the cars too. Unfortunate but true.

For the people wondering why soft water kills the plants, it's because they use sodium chloride to soften the water. You cannot water the plants with it because the salt will kill the plants. However, I use potassium chloride in my water softener and it is good for my plants (actually fertilizes them). My water softener is not tied to the outside either. It is only used for indoor water. If you have high blood pressure, it is not recommened you use sodium chloride, but to switch to potassium chloride. I love my soft water.

How about in-between water; water just like out of a bottle? I have lived with both, one home my parents owned was in an allotment and all the homes were supplied from a central well, there was so much iron in the water it stained everything. We had a pool and when dad would top it up in the spring there would be 3 inches of an iron mess settle out at the bottom.
In the home we had a softener that was after an iron filter, these two guys worked their little tails off to make the water livable.

On the other side I was staying in a hotel in Brooklyn a month ago and the water was sooooo soft that I could not get the soap off me, I do not know how that happens? Do they add something to the water? A water softener does not add salt it only uses the salt to recharge the zeolite pellets that attract the hard partials and minerals. The salt should all be washed out before the softener valves switch it back in service after the cycle. So who is a chemist here that can tell me how some water gets so over softened inquiring mind wishes to know?

The picture above certainly is not just a water problem or the marble to would change color. Clearly only the grout is affected.

My experience goes back 31 years in this business. When I come across this illusion, in almost all cases the cause is from poor house keeping, poor selection of grout, poorly designed and installed shower pan (holding water under tile due to clogged weep holes and or no pre-pitch before the pan was formed), wall panel installed directly in contact with the shower pan (wicking contaminated pan water into the wall causing stains) and mold/fungus growth and/or contamination (dirty water used) in the mortar mix. When portland cement grout starts to build up white hard crystals on the surface this is known as calcium build up / efflorescence. Efflorescence is a tell tail sign the shower pan is holding water. This problem usually appears after several wet / dry cycles. When ventilation is the source usually mold grows rapidly inside the shower corners and on the grout lines.

You know the story.. "I can't seem to keep the shower clean scenario." Epoxy grout designed for natural stone use is a great way to stop grout discoloration. You can not use just any epoxt grout or it will stain the marble tile. Most tile contractors are hesitant to use these products due to a lack of training and working knowledge of the product. Carefully select a trained waterproofing tile contractor the next shower you elect to build.

www.Schluter.com (Kerdi / Ditra) or www.Ardex.com ( 8+9 waterproofing) are two great products for trouble free shower building systems. Personally I think they make the Best waterproofing systems on the market. I do not recommend using these products as a DIY project. Water damage can cost you thousands of wasted dollars when installed incorrectly.

As for maintaining a shower use a squeegee daily after every shower use and at minimum ventilate the bathroom with a fan exhausted to the outdoors for at least 60 minutes! I do this religiously and it makes a world of difference. No soap scum build up with minimal mold. The same advice is given for keeping the shower door crystal clear....squeegee...squeegee....squeegee.

As much as people hate to hear this, "You do get what you pay for when you have champagne taste with a lemonade budget". Choose your contractors carefully and ask for training certificate(s) from the manufacturers who trained them!

Tried going without soft water for about a month. Almost ruined my dishwasher!

Try a bypass valve to separate your treated water supply. A qualified plumber and water treatment specialist would understand this.

We have a softener but our water is so hard that the tub is constantly orange and taking a bath without Calgon is like taking a swim in the quarry. Speaking of quarries we have a limestone quarry about 5 miles from our country home so we knew we would have a hard water when we bought our farmhouse 20+ years ago. Welcome to life in rural Indiana.

I agree with the comments about water stains caused by hard water in the showers. I also love the way our dishwasher cleans the glasses with soft water . . . no spots. Yes, in the shower, the feeling on the skin takes some getting used to, but I use much less soap, shampoo, and detergent for our laundry. I would never go back to hard water.

Back to the shower above... A couple more things to note.. Turning a bathroom fan on while leaving the shower door/curtain closed will not help much with drying out the shower after each use if the fans suction port is outside the shower area. Even if it's in the shower a return fresh air vent is necessary in a sealed unit. The door/curtain must be left open while ventilating the area to dry the area out or your wasting energy and/or delaying the drying process.

Notice in the photo above the ceiling appears to be painted with the glass door installed to the top of the tiled door header. (note the reflection at the top of the door showing the rain shower head) There's only a light illustrated with no vent port around the bulb. If there's no vent and no opening at the other end of the shower, experience tells me the ceiling will soak up water vapor rapidly. In time mold/mildew build up and paint blistering will occur.

Another observation... Typically when a door is installed to the header like this one the design purpose is to treat the shower as a sauna (steam shower) combination. With these observations and in my opinion, if the fan/vent opening options are not installed in this shower, failure is imminent. I could only hope that since this shower was designed by a licensed architect this observation will never come to fruition.

Live in Phoenix. Soft water is a must, unless you want spotted dishes, appliances ruined and rings in your toilets!!

Soft water is the best! I have had a good unit for most of the last 45 years with well water and city water. My cleaning lady loves it; no scouring shower doors, tile, toilets or faucets.
I never replace plumbing fixtures on a renovation until a water softener is installed. Hard water will corrode a new toilet in a month.
Soft water saves money as uses 1/2 the soap in laundry, shower & dishwasher.
People who don't like soft water need education or a properly installed system. It is not expensive and the salt is only used to clean the softener. It does not put salt in the water to any noticeable degree.

We are in the process of looking for a very good softener to install. Is it possible to suggest ones that you like?

Hard water dries out my skin and makes it feel tight and awful. Soft all the way!

Soft water! As in rainwater. My place is entirely on a rain-catchment system.

I used a national brand of hard water softening. I bought a Culligan system. They deliver the potassium chloride to my house because it is harder to come across in regular stores. Potassium chloride is much better for the environment. I have been very happy with Culligan.

I live in Washington on a hill and my well is 350feet deep. It is very hard with a lot of iron. We filter the water before it comes to the water softener, treat it, the send it into the house to go threw a very large microbiotic (?) filter. My observations after 5 years....the water tastes great, my skin is clean and soft, our clothes are clean, all our faucets, sinks, tubs, tiles are untouched by hard water marks AND every plant I own is doing well and growing. Not one has died and some have grown too much and had to be pruned.
If we ever move, I will have my water tested. If it is hard...I will put in a water softener.

We did not use a national brand water softener company. I asked around and was given the name of a guy who does his own systems based on what he sees and what the client wants. He was/is fabulous.

Anybody know? WHY does softened water make hair unmanageable and skin feel slimy? I hate it, but I also hate what my hard water does to my toilets and tub. Can't use my dishwasher without LemiShine ever since dishwasher soaps had to ditch the bad stuff in their ingredients. Is there any hard water solution other than a softener?

Okay, now I'm more confused than ever. I've always thought we had hard water because it doesn't make my skin feel slimy or my hair go limp, which happens when we visit areas with soft water. But neither do we have have any problems with calcium build up on toilets, tubs, tile, glass, or other things people are describing here as the negative side effects of hard water. So what exactly do we have? Semi-soft? Semi-hard? Is there something in between?

@linda907. I'm not sure why you feel the soft water makes your hair unmanageable. But that "slimy" feeling you describe is (from what the Culligan rep told me) that your skin is clean and lacks the soap scum. I had to get to used to that too.

we had such high mineral content water in florida that i was ready to install water softener although i hate the feel of softened water. the glasses coming out of the dishwasher were grossly cloudy. as a last resort i tried cascade complete packets in the dishwasher and the result was fabulous, crystal clear glasswear. i have no idea why this works better than other kinds of dishwasher detergent, but it does at least in florida.

Thank you, feeny. I always believed soft water was leaving soap on my skin, and now I know it's true! And your search info also led me to another site (which I'm not sure is reliable so I won't list it here) that claims that softened water should not be used for consumption, as it leaches heavy metals (i.e., lead) from pipes and faucets. Anyone out there able to verify this? Is there still lead in modern supply lines and faucets that can even be leached?

Love my soft water. We use potassium not salt to soften. We lived without for 6 months and my dental cleaning lady complained. There was a hard water ring in my dog's bowl.

Soft water allows you to use much less soap products. If you don't want to feel slippery then use less soap and save $. When I was in bed pregnant twice I knew my shower, sinks, faucets would not get ruined from hard water deposits while no one cleaned them.

Lastly it taste great (at least if you use potassium) .

To blueskies: potassium is actually more intense than Sodium as it relates to what softeners do to the waste water. It is harder to break down than sodium. My town is asking people to not use it if possible ( they also would prefer that we not use softeners at all because of the effect on the groundwater).

I live in a hard water mountainous state. I don't think that is a problem here.

It all depends on what minerals and in what quantity they are present. I have lived with water that had so much iron that the water was orange and soap would not lather. On the other hand, I lived in Baton Rouge, LA where the water is naturally very soft. There it takes a tiny amount of shampoo and excessive rinsing to get the slimy soap feeling off your hands and soap residue from your hair.
In our current home we have moderately hard water that will leave calcium deposits and iron stains if a drip develops or housekeeping practices lapse. But it is not bad enough to go to the trouble and expense of a softener system.
I have also lived where the city water supply would occasionally suck up lots of sand from the well. Other times there was enough sand that water left in the upturned bottoms of cups and glasses in the dishwasher was gritty. I used to laugh that we got lots of "fiber", but who knows, it might have done damage. But all in all, we seemed to survive it all intact.

Those overhead "rain drops" shower heads are no good if you want to get clean,
or to wash the soap out of your hair.

I prefer "soft water" as I have lived in both the North with hard water and in the south with soft water. I did not like the calcium build up in our pipes and the expense of installing a water softener system and having to purchase salt.

hard water in Mentor Ohio - and I'm so glad. Can't stand the slimy feeling I can't wash off when showering at my friends house in PA

There are degrees of hard and soft water. My in-laws had naturally soft water right straight from the ground and it was great for everything, including drinking. On the other hand I have tasted water so hard it was like sucking on an iron bar. So one size does not fit all in this question. I have hard water for outside faucets and our indoors drinking water. All the rest is softened with a softner.

We use rain water for everything from drinking to dishes to the toilet. It is the only water we have, and it is the softest, sweetest water you would ever experience.

We have very, very hard well water. We toyed at getting a softener, however they suggest you do NOT water your plants w the softened water. If my plants cannot tolerate it, what will the long run results be for humans. Instead, we have gone to a rain water catchment system. It is wonderful. All is good on the home front.

Oregon lawmakers have outlawed rain-catchment in their state. All of us who rely on catchment systems should be very disturbed by this...

CONFUSED: As faithful Houzzers know, I'm remodeling here. I have kitchen and one bath done with the second underway. I have real calcium deposits, especially on the tub upstairs. I am concerned for my new plumbing in the bathrooms and the kitchen; I'd like to keep it nice and working and the glass doors to the showers clear. I am told there are two types of water softeners, those that use salt and those that don't. The salt one removes the minerals, and the no-salt changes the makeup/arrangement of ions/molecules (?) so that the you don't get the hard build-up of calcium, etc. I have not read in any of these postings about this second alternative. I was considering going that way...supposedly you don't get the slick skin feeling and get rid of the hard deposit problem too. Can anyone help clarify this? Any help appreciated before I call both salesmen and get more confusing sales talk. My husband says not to worry about it, that it's taken 35 years to get these deposits and w/ new plumbing, it'll take 35 more and someone will remodel again anyway. Happy Fourth everyone; take care.

Naturally soft water and artificially softened water are completely different in all respects, the natural soft water that comes out of my taps tastes great, is great for washing with, and my plants love it. The artificially softened water from my daughters home tastes like soap, leaves the laundry stiff, the hair and skin "icky", and kills her plants.

We have extremely hard water - so hard, in fact, that the area has an exemption for water quality. No one drinks the water if they can afford a filter or to buy bottled. Good way to get kidney stones really fast! We soak shower heads and faucets in vinegar often, run vinegar through the dishwasher as the softening agents really are not the best. I also use vinegar in the washer to remove smells from towels because without it, the towels smell awful no matter what I do.

Voted soft, because that's how ours is AFTER we use the water softener. Love it!

Soft

I have never heard that soft water leaves the soap on its the opposite I would not get my info from an about.com article those people know nothing about science and notice there are not citations? Its bunk. They get paid to write anything, believe almost nothing you read on the web.

Wouldn't trade soft water for anything.

Use less soap, as in one teaspoon in the dishwasher, and one ounce of laundry detergent. Much less shampoo, nill on the conditioner, and my softener drains onto my fescue/bermuda lawn and never has come close to harming my beautiful lawn.

My water doesn't taste the least bit salty, and is WAY BETTER than the curdled feel of hard water; don't even get me started about chlorine!

According to many experts, hard water is far superior to soft water.

However, the benefits of soft water can't be ignored. It's because of this that many experts suggest that people who do use a water softener install a water bypass valve. This lets the hard water to flow to specific areas so that it can be used for drinking and cooking. If not, then other sources of water must be found, such as bottled water.