Hard water is caused by compounds of calcium and magnesium, and by a variety of other metals (Allen). You’re probably wondering where it is or where it tends to be mostly.. The most common place can be shower heads or at least where is most found in simply by people noticing changes in their hair and on their skin. The calcium and magnesium ions in water tend to not be obviously intended for the skin, which can react to the skin barrier and the hair scalp and shaft which can cause irritation and damage. Have you had damage or problems before?
Hard water contains high concentrations of dissolved minerals. Calcium and Magnesium. Yes hard water can be bad in many ways, but there’s always a good when it comes to a bad. These certain minerals can be beneficial to our bodies that we actually need. The minerals stated have been associated with cardiovascular health, improved digestion, and reduced constipation. In fact, without these minerals, lack of calcium can be known as hypocalcemia while a potassium deficiency is called hypokalemia. Magnesium helps transport calcium and potassium ions in and out of cells. It may also contribute to the absorption of these important minerals. This is why a lack of magnesium can lead to low calcium and potassium levels.
Mineral and sediment levels in water can be considered a wicked problem. The 6 characteristics of a wicked problem are vague problem definition, undefined solution, no endpoint, irreversible, unique, and urgent. When it comes to a vague problem and the hard water we’re talking about, we know it has it’s pros and cons but why isn’t anything being stated more if it is an issue in a certain community that is causing people to travel,not shower and not have at least reliable drinking water. Hard water can be considered an undefined solution since it contains various dissolved minerals, as stated before, the most relevant being calcium and magnesium. Unlike a more defined solution the exact amounts of concentrations are consistent. Meaning the variability means the concentration of minerals in hard water is not fixed.
When it comes to hard water it can be very tedious to pinpoint what kind of problems it has, which leads me to my next point. What is ‘no endpoint?’ Calcium and magnesium can react with multiple titrantsts, in the passage, it was stated the water was tested to see what was in the water, but, while testing for ‘hardness’ in water, there isn’t clear or distinct areas you might find in solving a singular solute. Knowing the presence of multiple ions can lead to a change in a solution. It can make it very challenging to determine a endpoint for this. Hard water can be considered irreversible for many reasons, my main point being, the minerals that are present in hard water, are actually beneficial. The minerals that cause hardness, can not physically dissolve back into the water once they have precipitated out of the ‘formed scale.’ Stated in the passage ‘The poisoning of an american city’ they attempted to boil the water to make it more safe to drink or use for everyday necessities, when hard water is heated it can be subjected to certain chemical processes, which can later lead to scaling in pipes. All in all would only make your pipes wear down and have a issue in the long run.
Not only can hard water be unique for it’s certain elements, it can vary by locations and giving different distinct characteristics. As stated before, where the water source comes from as well can play a big role in it being unique. Hard water can be a source for soap build up, hard water can affect soap’s effectiveness. For example; When you get out of the bathtub and you had bubbles previously in it, If you have hard water it won’t actually clean it, it will rinse it and just cause soap scum or build up around your bathtub or on the bottom of it. What makes it unique is it’s pros and cons when it comes to your health and your surroundings. Plainly hard water can be considered urgent to it’s address, because it can lead to several practical problems in your household. Build up of scale in pipes, appliances and water heaters, effectiveness on soap and any type of detergents stating leading to issues with cleaning and hygiene. Addressing hard water more can mitigate issues and the longevity of them.
In conclusion, hard water is set by high levels of calcium and magnesium ions. Which can lead to issues stated before, meanwhile it can provide essentials minerals for human body health, the more practical problems it causes makes it way more relevant and important to address. More proactive solutions like water softeners and being more attentive to where the water is coming from to help areas that don’t have the best water cycle.