Understanding Hard Water and Soft Water

You’ve probably heard the terms ‘hard water’ and ‘soft water’, but what do they actually mean?
How can a fluid have a ‘hardness’, anyway?

To better understand the difference between hard water and soft water, let’s do a quick refresher on the basic water cycle…

How does water get to my tap?

At the top of the cycle, water vapour hangs in the air as clouds, then condenses and falls to the earth as rainwater.

The rainwater then flows across land as surface runoff and streams, and through soil and sediment underground as groundwater; eventually reaching streams, rivers and lakes on the surface.

(Water companies typically collect water from rivers, lakes and man-made reservoirs, diverting it to treatment plants which in turn supply it to homes and businesses)

Finally, the water flows from the rivers and lakes into the ocean, where the sun’s heat turns it back into water vapour clouds via evaporation; and the cycle repeats…