Water Softening

Typically, a standard plastic bottle of water contains 500 mL or 16.9 fluid ounces.

Water hardness is typically measured in terms of calcium carbonate concentration. Hard water has a high mineral content, usually with higher amounts of calcium and magnesium ions, which can cause mineral deposits and scale buildup. Areas with hard water can benefit from water softening methods to reduce these mineral levels.

The cheapest way to soften bathing water is to use a water softening shower head or attach a shower filter containing activated carbon or KDF. It is not recommended to add salt to bathwater to replace calcium as it can be harsh on the skin and may cause irritation.

Water hardness can vary by region due to differences in geological makeup. Areas with high mineral content in the soil, such as regions with limestone or chalk deposits, tend to have hard water. Conversely, areas with granite or slate bedrock typically have softer water. Factors like climate, water source, and human activity can also influence water hardness.

Clean fresh water

I'm wondering this same thing. Supposedly soft water is good for your skin but everytime I'm at someone's house who has a water softener I find that my hands feel slick after washing them and then within a few hours of having washed my hands they begin to itch and peel. Both my parents and my friends have a water softener and I've had this experience at both places. I've also showered at my parents house using my bath soap (ivory) and found their water to irritate the heck out of my skin (dryness and itching).

This happens almost every time I was my hands with soft water and never otherwise. I wonder if it's the salt content of the water.

Funny thing is, I grew up with soft water (again, parents have it) but now after using 'regular' water for years and years the soft water seems to just irritate the heck out of my skin. I'd actually like to have a water softener but am not about to pay that kind of money for something that sure seems to irritate my skin.

It's excellent, charcoal should be further treated and turned into activated carbon to give it more surface area but in the absence of that process and all you have is charcoal; it does a pretty good job

nos2 is water

It isn't an element, it is the salt sodium chloride a compound.

The calcium (as calcium carbonate) in hard water replaces the sodium on the fatty acids of the soap causing them to precipitate as a sticky scum. This deposits soap scum on the things being washed and causes the formation of "bathtub ring" on bathtubs, sinks, etc.

Hard water interacts with soaps preventing them from cleaning properly and forming soap scum and bathtub ring (detergents are not affected this way).

Hard water coats the insides of pipes preventing them from rusting, but can also clog the pipes with mineral deposits.

Very hard water sometimes has an unpleasant "alkali" type taste.