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Home > Archive > Home Cleaning > December 2006 > Is Chicago water hard or soft?
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Is Chicago water hard or soft?
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| Ajanta 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
| Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
| |
| Karl S 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
| On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:07:13 GMT, Ajanta wrote:
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
Doesn't Chicago water come from the lake? If it does, it's soft.
| |
| kellyj00@gmail.com 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
| if you get white calcium buildups on stuff, it's hard. My shower
curtain went from clear to white after 18 months use... if that tells
you anything. We've got some really hard stuff here.
Taste it... hard water tastes...well, funny.
Also, soap doesn't "sud up" as well in hard water... that may help.
Jason Kelly
Valley Center, KS
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| Randy Day 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
| Ajanta wrote:
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
If you're willing to spend a few bucks finding out,
go to a pet store and pick up a hardness test kit.
Aquarium owners use them for tropical fish.
Or, just ask the person in the fish section of the
pet store. They're usually familiar with the local
water conditions.
| |
| Edwin Pawlowski 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
|
"Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
news:101120061007195714%ajanta@null.void...
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
Most any municipal water has some hardness. To find the degree of it, take
a sample to anyone selling water treatment equipment and they will do a
simple test (usually for free) and tell you what the hardness is.
You can also call the Water Department for information.
| |
| Todd H. 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
| Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> writes:
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
I have city water from Lake Michigan. No water softener and no
problems. Water softeners are quite uncommon here.
In contrast to Austin Texas where the water was ridiculously hard and
many many people had water softeners.
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/
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| Toller 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
|
"Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
news:101120061007195714%ajanta@null.void...
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
In Rochester NY, about a tenth the size of Chicago, we have three completely
different water supplies. I expect Chicago has a few also. Call your water
department.
Someone said lake water was soft; ours is pretty hard. Not horribly hard
like most wells, but hard.
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| rsnyder 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
|
Ajanta wrote:
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
I went to Sears and they will give you a bottle to bring in a sample of
water. They test it right there in front of you for hardness and Ph.
They'll ask you some questions about taste, color, and smell of your
water. They will then give you some recommendations of what you need,
no need to buy though. I got mine tested a little while ago and had a
hardness of 22, which is extremely hard. I live near Watertown, NY and
have a dug well.
| |
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| In article <1163183715.209868.59160@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com>,
"rsnyder" <snyderscomp@verizon.net> wrote:
> Ajanta wrote:
>
> I went to Sears and they will give you a bottle to bring in a sample of
> water. They test it right there in front of you for hardness and Ph.
> They'll ask you some questions about taste, color, and smell of your
> water. They will then give you some recommendations of what you need,
> no need to buy though. I got mine tested a little while ago and had a
> hardness of 22, which is extremely hard. I live near Watertown, NY and
> have a dug well.
The Sears over by me has 20 year olds working there. I hardly think the kids
would be capable of giving me accurate data. They don't even have to type
anyhting into a cash register or figure out change.
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| Edwin Pawlowski 2006-11-10, 1:25 pm |
|
"kenji" <kenji@ripco.com> wrote in message
>
> The Sears over by me has 20 year olds working there. I hardly think the
> kids
> would be capable of giving me accurate data.
Why not? Have you seen how the test is done? You can watch as they do it
and see the reading yourself. Kids that age are not all dummies. For a
few bucks, you can buy own kit.
| |
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| In article <_645h.39$%U.15@trndny07>, "Edwin Pawlowski" <esp@snet.net> wrote:
> "kenji" <kenji@ripco.com> wrote in message
>
> Why not? Have you seen how the test is done? You can watch as they do it
> and see the reading yourself. Kids that age are not all dummies. For a
> few bucks, you can buy own kit.
i don't believe they are dummies I think in general they could give a fuck
about customer service. So in general at most large retail stores I try to not
have to communicate whatsoever with any employee other than the check out girl.
| |
| Todd H. 2006-11-10, 5:25 pm |
| "Toller" <Toller@Yahoo.com> writes:
> "Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
> news:101120061007195714%ajanta@null.void...
>
> In Rochester NY, about a tenth the size of Chicago, we have three completely
> different water supplies. I expect Chicago has a few also. Call your water
> department.
Actually the vast vast majority of chicagoland is fed from Lake Michigan.
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/
| |
| Captain Ozone 2006-11-10, 5:25 pm |
| My eyes went all googly to have seen *rsnyder* write this:
> Ajanta wrote:
>
> I went to Sears and they will give you a bottle to bring in a sample of
> water. They test it right there in front of you for hardness and Ph.
> They'll ask you some questions about taste, color, and smell of your
> water. They will then give you some recommendations of what you need,
> no need to buy though. I got mine tested a little while ago and had a
> hardness of 22, which is extremely hard. I live near Watertown, NY and
> have a dug well.
I seem to think that, in general, lake water tends to be much "softer" than
wellwater which comes from underground (duh), and most, if not all, of Chicago's
water comes from Lake Michigan.
Good recommendation to get a pH tester from any fish store. It's very easy to
use and they're pretty accurate. One can also get a chlorine tester, too, if
one feels the need to test that as well.
I should think that it's never a bad idea to have some sort water filtration,
whether in-line or separate, since Rudy knows what's in anyone's water anymore,
regardless of its source.
--
The *Original* Captain Ozone
| |
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| In article <4554fe70_1@x-privat.org>, "Captain Ozone" <CallMe@Home.Big.Girl>
wrote:
> I should think that it's never a bad idea to have some sort water filtration,
> whether in-line or separate, since Rudy knows what's in anyone's water
> anymore,
> regardless of its source.
why?
pathogens? taste? something else?
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|
Todd H. wrote:
> "Toller" <Toller@Yahoo.com> writes:
>
>
> Actually the vast vast majority of chicagoland is fed from Lake Michigan.
Until the early 1990's, DuPage Co. was on wells. You had to shlep those
salt blocks
for the softner and I still had a funky dry patch on my hand that
didn't heal until
the Lake water turned on. Most of Will and Kane is still on wells, and
who knows
how far that toxic plume from Argonne has spread thru the aquafiers.
Lake Mickey
rules !! Cheese Heads keep your sludge out...JG
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| On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:33:55 GMT, "Toller" <Toller@Yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>"Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
>news:101120061007195714%ajanta@null.void...
>
>In Rochester NY, about a tenth the size of Chicago, we have three completely
>different water supplies. I expect Chicago has a few also. Call your water
>department.
>
>Someone said lake water was soft; ours is pretty hard. Not horribly hard
>like most wells, but hard.
And delicious. It's the only water I drink. Cheap, too!
| |
| Cydrome Leader 2006-11-10, 8:25 pm |
| In chi.general Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
consider it hard.
But who fuck cares. You clean a shower head with a cup of vinegar. It
takes like 5 minutes.
why the hell anybody would waste time "testing" the water is beyond me.
| |
| clifto 2006-11-10, 8:25 pm |
| kenji wrote:
> In article <4554fe70_1@x-privat.org>, "Captain Ozone" <CallMe@Home.Big.Girl>
> wrote:
>
>
> why?
>
> pathogens? taste? something else?
Mold.
--
"A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and
woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."
-- George William Curtis
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| rsnyder 2006-11-10, 8:25 pm |
|
Cydrome Leader wrote:
> In chi.general Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:
>
> consider it hard.
>
> But who fuck cares. You clean a shower head with a cup of vinegar. It
> takes like 5 minutes.
>
> why the hell anybody would waste time "testing" the water is beyond me.
Because it's not about just a shower head, if you have hard water it
lowers the life span of hot water heaters, dish washers and washing
machines. Also you end up spending more on soap and cleaning products.
| |
|
|
"Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
news:101120061007195714%ajanta@null.void...
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
I googled Chicago water report.
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/...=Water%2FI+Want
+To&context=dept&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Water&deptMainCategoryOID=
Bob
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| clifto 2006-11-10, 8:25 pm |
| Bob F wrote:
> http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/...me=Water%2FI+Wa
nt+To&context=dept&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Water&deptMainCategoryOID=
Not a word about hardness in there. Daley said "hardly" once, though.
--
"A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and
woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."
-- George William Curtis
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|
<kellyj00@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1163175984.145683.282750@f16g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> if you get white calcium buildups on stuff, it's hard. My shower
> curtain went from clear to white after 18 months use... if that tells
> you anything. We've got some really hard stuff here.
>
You might wanna try washing it.
I have a clear curtain and very hard well water. I throw my curtain in the
wash at least once a month. It comes out as clear as the day I bought it.
I can't imagine how nasty yours must be.
> Taste it... hard water tastes...well, funny.
My hard water is the sweetest coldest water I've ever tasted.
> Also, soap doesn't "sud up" as well in hard water... that may help.
Well you got that right.
peggo
>
>
> Jason Kelly
> Valley Center, KS
>
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"clifto" <clifto@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:8sif24-th2.ln1@remote.clifto.com...
> Bob F wrote:
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/...=Water%2FI+Want
+To&context=dept&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Water&deptMainCategoryOID=[color=darkred]
>
> Not a word about hardness in there. Daley said "hardly" once, though.
>
> --
> "A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and
> woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that
principle."
> -- George William Curtis
OK. Google chacago water hardness.
Second choice is
http://www.dpwc.org/faqprint.htm.
Where does our water come from?
The DuPage Water Commission's water comes from Lake Michigan, the largest
freshwater lake in the United States and the fifth largest lake in the
world. The Commission purchases the water from the Chicago Water Department.
How hard is my water and should I use a water softener?
Dissolved minerals make water hard; as the amount of minerals in the water
increases, the water becomes harder. Two common minerals found dissolved in
drinking water are calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. There is
usually much more calcium carbonate than magnesium carbonate present in
water; therefore, water hardness is reported as the amount of calcium
carbonate (CaCO3) dissolved in the water. There are two units of measurement
for hardness commonly used in the United States, grains per gallon and
milligrams per liter calcium carbonate (mg/L as CaCO3). The conversion
factor is 17.1 mg/L as CaCO3 = 1 grain per gallon. Our water is about 8
grains per gallon or 137 mg/L as CaCO3. Average well water hardness is 55
grains per gallon or 941 mg/L as CaCO3.
| |
| Jim Redelfs 2006-11-10, 9:25 pm |
| In article <841wobw3xa.fsf@ripco.com>, t@toddh.net (Todd H.) wrote:
> I have city water from Lake Michigan. No water softener and no
> problems. Water softeners are quite uncommon here.
>
> In contrast to Austin Texas where the water was ridiculously hard and
> many many people had water softeners.
An easy and reliable indicator of the "hardness" of a community's water supply
is to simply drive by a local grocery or hardware store. If there are pallets
and pallets of softener salt out front, the water is hard.
--
JR
| |
| emailaddress@ISP.com 2006-11-11, 3:25 am |
| On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:07:13 GMT, Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:
>Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
>went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
>is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
I dont know about the water but I heard most of the Chicago man are
SOFT !!!!
| |
| Scott en Aztlán 2006-11-11, 3:25 am |
| Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> said in chi.general:
>Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
>went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
>is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
Soft as a baby's bottom.
--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
- Jonathan Swift
| |
| Malone 2006-11-11, 9:25 am |
| On 10 Nov 2006 10:35:15 -0800, "rsnyder" <snyderscomp@verizon.net>
wrote:
>
>Ajanta wrote:
>
>I went to Sears and they will give you a bottle to bring in a sample of
>water. They test it right there in front of you for hardness and Ph.
>They'll ask you some questions about taste, color, and smell of your
>water. They will then give you some recommendations of what you need,
>no need to buy though. I got mine tested a little while ago and had a
>hardness of 22, which is extremely hard. I live near Watertown, NY and
>have a dug well.
Since you live in Watertown, NY, just wondering if you ever heard of
Malone, NY ? Just curious because my dad was raised there and I
remember some cold Christmas visits there. I was a product of NYC so
Malone was a bit different to me years ago. I wonder what Malone or
the like is like nowadays?
| |
|
| In article <monbl2d8dbptsh4acscgd3v5uu0evm6q2p@4ax.com>, Malone wrote:
> I wonder what Malone or
> the like is like nowadays?
Mexicans
| |
|
|
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| Lake Michigan water is HARD.
If you have a water softner then you will have soft water but water from the
lake is HARD. So HARD it almost hurts coming out of the faucet.
"Karl S" <karlsch@-no-spam-ak.net> wrote in message
news:1etdmuyjptdls$.9o47ghhpxqoa.dlg@40tude.net...
> On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:07:13 GMT, Ajanta wrote:
>
>
> Doesn't Chicago water come from the lake? If it does, it's soft.
| |
|
|
| Scott en Aztlán 2006-11-17, 3:25 am |
| "ME" <someone@microsoft.com> said in chi.general:
>Lake Michigan water is HARD.
>
>If you have a water softner then you will have soft water but water from the
>lake is HARD. So HARD it almost hurts coming out of the faucet.
You don't know what hard is until you've lived in Tucson. What comes
out of the taps there is 50% dissolved minerals and 50% chlorine.
--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
- Jonathan Swift
| |
| Cydrome Leader 2006-11-17, 3:25 am |
| In chi.general rsnyder <snyderscomp@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> Cydrome Leader wrote:
>
> Because it's not about just a shower head, if you have hard water it
> lowers the life span of hot water heaters, dish washers and washing
> machines. Also you end up spending more on soap and cleaning products.
>
Ah, if you have hard water, it's cheaper to install a whole system water
softener than to get a new $200 water heater every few decades?
Sorry, my mistake.
| |
| Scott en Aztlán 2006-11-17, 9:25 am |
| Cydrome Leader <presence@MUNGEpanix.com> said in chi.general:
>Ah, if you have hard water, it's cheaper to install a whole system water
>softener than to get a new $200 water heater every few decades?
>
>Sorry, my mistake.
It's not just the water heater: hard water builds up scale inside your
pipes. After a few decades, they clog up and your entire house needs
to be re-plumbed.
So yeah. it's cheaper in the long run to install a water softener.
--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
- Jonathan Swift
| |
| Reneejane@gmail.com 2006-11-18, 1:25 pm |
| You really can't beat Lake Michigan water... No worries about hard or
soft, just use it as is. I haven't had lime build up or icky slimy
soft water either.
I don't know of any chicagoans with a water softener.
I HATE softened water, makes you feel slimy.
~Renee
Ajanta wrote:
> Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
> went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
> is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
| |
| Cydrome Leader 2006-11-19, 5:25 pm |
| In chi.general Scott en Aztl?n <scottenaztlan@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Cydrome Leader <presence@MUNGEpanix.com> said in chi.general:
>
>
> It's not just the water heater: hard water builds up scale inside your
> pipes. After a few decades, they clog up and your entire house needs
> to be re-plumbed.
>
> So yeah. it's cheaper in the long run to install a water softener.
you pipes clog shut in 30 years?
you might want to try something thicker than 1/4 tubing.
| |
| Scott en Aztlán 2006-11-19, 5:25 pm |
| Cydrome Leader <presence@MUNGEpanix.com> said in chi.general:
>
>you pipes clog shut in 30 years?
They can if you have hard water. Which Lake Michigan water is not.
--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
- Jonathan Swift
| |
|
| On 10 Nov 2006 08:26:24 -0800, "kellyj00@gmail.com"
<kellyj00@gmail.com> wrote:
>if you get white calcium buildups on stuff, it's hard. My shower
>curtain went from clear to white after 18 months use... if that tells
>you anything. We've got some really hard stuff here.
>
>Taste it... hard water tastes...well, funny.
>Also, soap doesn't "sud up" as well in hard water... that may help.
But you can't rinse off in really soft water.
I lived in Chicago 6 years. IIRC, it was in the middle between hard
and soft.
Yes, there are intakes about a mile out into the lake where the city
gets water. You can just see them from the shore. One of my bosses
was a worker, or foreman, buiding one of the water tunnels/
>
>Jason Kelly
>Valley Center, KS
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
| |
|
| On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:55:32 GMT, Randy Day <randy.day@shaw.cax>
wrote:
>Ajanta wrote:
>
>If you're willing to spend a few bucks finding out,
>go to a pet store and pick up a hardness test kit.
>Aquarium owners use them for tropical fish.
Most tropical fish are pretty soft. I can squeeze them between two
fingers, without getting tired.
>
>Or, just ask the person in the fish section of the
>pet store. They're usually familiar with the local
>water conditions.
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
| |
|
| On 10 Nov 2006 10:35:15 -0800, "rsnyder" <snyderscomp@verizon.net>
wrote:
>
>Ajanta wrote:
>
>I went to Sears and they will give you a bottle to bring in a sample of
>water.
I did that once. But then I got worried so I had a friend use his
urine. We passed.
> They test it right there in front of you for hardness and Ph.
>They'll ask you some questions about taste, color, and smell of your
>water. They will then give you some recommendations of what you need,
>no need to buy though. I got mine tested a little while ago and had a
>hardness of 22, which is extremely hard. I live near Watertown, NY and
>have a dug well.
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
| |
|
| In article <vld7o29jgqopce699blts45gl12h90loh0@4ax.com>,
mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> One of my bosses
> was a worker, or foreman, buiding one of the water tunnels/
you worked with him in 1867 or 1941?
| |
|
| On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 08:45:48 -0600, kenji <kenji@ripco.com> wrote:
>In article <vld7o29jgqopce699blts45gl12h90loh0@4ax.com>,
> mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
>
>you worked with him in 1867 or 1941?
1872. But he had worked on the tunnel earlier.
Are you sure they didn't dig any such lake tunnels since those years?
Maybe it was another tunnel he was working on.
| |
| Chicago Paddling-Fishing 2006-12-16, 8:25 pm |
| In chi.general Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:
: Please help! I am no tech genius and need to buy a shower-head. When I
: went to Consumer Reports, it ranks them according to whether the water
: is hard or soft. So, is Chicago water hard or soft? Thanks.
I think the question of if Chicago water is hard or soft depends on how fast
you are traveling when you hit the water...
--
John Nelson
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