There are many differences between hard and soft water, but the most apparent one is the number of minerals that exist in hard water versus soft. When comparing a glass of hard water and a glass of soft water, you can see how much cloudier the hard water is due to the presence of calcium and magnesium. Although this may not sound bad, when it comes to cooking, the differences will really show themselves.
For starters, baking with hard water might be the most noticeable when it comes to cooking. Using hard water with any type of bread will leave a noticeable effect on the way your bread turns out. Soft water causes your bread to rise and keeps the yeast count high enough to achieve that perfect doughy rise that every baker wants to see. Using hard water causes the bread to rise at a much slower rate, and it actually leaves your bread seeming somewhat, well, hard. Also, due to the softness of the dough prior to it being baked, when the waters sets in, you can actually taste the minerals in the final product. Its reaction with yeast leaves an interesting taste that isn’t very appealing.
Second, it makes the biggest difference in your water-based drinks. When drinking tea, lemonade, coffee or any type of beverage that requires water, it is very easy to tell whether or not it contains a high level of calcium and magnesium. Soft water eliminates the taste of minerals and leaves your drinks tasting as pure as possible. When combined with other ingredients such as lemons, coffee grounds or tea bags, the hard water taste is almost magnified. It’s safe to say that mixing your drinks with soft water will eliminate this issue in its entirety.
Lastly, soft water has the ability to leave your appliances and kitchen much cleaner than hard water. Hard water leaves behind an unattractive residue, especially when combined with soap. Instead of producing a foam for better cleaning, it produces a type of scum due to the minerals. It can start to actually clog plumbing from the thick residue it forms. You can likely even notice residue on silverware and dishes after they have been cleaned because they are left with a spotty or filmy appearance.
Overall, cooking and cleaning with soft water is safer and more effective. Soft water will leave your kitchen looking much cleaner and leave your food and drinks tasting much better than they would if you were to use hard water. For best results, purified, soft water will win every time against hard water.
If you are interested in making the switch to soft water, contact Kinetico of West Texas today for a free water analysis.
