Little Difference #22 - Calcium
The difference is in the water - isn't that a beer slogan or something? Anyway, in this case the difference is in the water. The difference is calcium and apparently lots of it. The problem with this excess calcium is that it can build up in appliances, causing them to malfunction. The calcium also leaves cloudy spots on your sink, shower, dishes or most anything it dries on.
The result of all this nasty calcium is a multitude of cleaning products and additives that must be used with any appliance that uses water. Let's see, anti-calc tablets are added to EACH load of laundry. Salt is added to the dishwasher (this may have to do with the hard water issue. Honestly, I don't really know) about 1 a month. I also get an anti-calc treatment with each box of coffee filters I buy. I have quite a stash of those now. Maybe someday I'll actually use one, but for now I choose to live dangerously (aka I'm lazy.)
Seems this part of Europe has declared an all out war on calcium. The cleaning aisles are stuffed with anti-calc products for every possible surface or situation.
Oh, the tap water. It's perfectly safe to drink. It tastes just fine. Seems humans don't have to worry about calcium build-up. If we did, though, I'm sure there would be an anti-calc product readily available here.
The difference is in the water - isn't that a beer slogan or something? Anyway, in this case the difference is in the water. The difference is calcium and apparently lots of it. The problem with this excess calcium is that it can build up in appliances, causing them to malfunction. The calcium also leaves cloudy spots on your sink, shower, dishes or most anything it dries on.
The result of all this nasty calcium is a multitude of cleaning products and additives that must be used with any appliance that uses water. Let's see, anti-calc tablets are added to EACH load of laundry. Salt is added to the dishwasher (this may have to do with the hard water issue. Honestly, I don't really know) about 1 a month. I also get an anti-calc treatment with each box of coffee filters I buy. I have quite a stash of those now. Maybe someday I'll actually use one, but for now I choose to live dangerously (aka I'm lazy.)
Seems this part of Europe has declared an all out war on calcium. The cleaning aisles are stuffed with anti-calc products for every possible surface or situation.
Oh, the tap water. It's perfectly safe to drink. It tastes just fine. Seems humans don't have to worry about calcium build-up. If we did, though, I'm sure there would be an anti-calc product readily available here.
I don't think calcium rich water is specific to just this part of Europe. Tell me about the water where you live.
Read all the Little Differences here.
7 comments:
We didn't have that problem in Germany. California is a different story - the hard water is horrible. I wish we had some of the products available here!
I don't think we had that problem where we lived in St. Gallen, but then again I could have been just plain ignorant. I know my mother in law who lives in Germany is religious about making sure we all wipe down the shower with a sqeegy after each shower because she doesn't like the spots on the glass. However, I don not remember any additional products added to the dishwasher or laundry.
In Portugal we do have lots of calcium in watter and we also use all those cleaning products to keep things working! The concentration of calcium is not equal in all our country regions. There are parts of the country were the calcium is so much that even when you take a shower and wash you hair you feel your skin and hair different. We also add salt to the dish washer and anti calc every thing that will take watter, even our coffe machine has to be treated a few times in a year. But it's great to drink because it makes our bonnes stronger!
Commenting to say I have no comment...that's just...odd.
Keep 'em coming, girlie girl.
Same war on calcium is rage throughout Italy as well. We use a product called "Viacal," which is likely toxic, but takes care of it quick and easy.
I wonder if there is a healthy, natural alternative?
In Israel we also have lots of minerals in the water, though I'm not sure what! It builds up in the electric pot we use to boil water for hot drinks and can cause problems in washing machines, though there is a filter built in to the machine....
Vistors notice a definate difference in their hair after showering!
all the best, and do drop by creative jewishmom.com to link up a craft!
We just found out that we have arsenic in our water (Bernalillo, NM) just a smidgen over the "allowed safety limit" so we have now installed a reverse osmosis filter which is FANTASTIC!!! We can now bottle our own water.
Hmmm.... hope you can't absorb arsenic thru your skin.
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