Is Chicago water hard or soft?

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Not a word about hardness in there. Daley said "hardly" once, though.

Reply to
clifto
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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.

My hard water is the sweetest coldest water I've ever tasted.

Well you got that right.

peggo

Reply to
peggo

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principle."

OK. Google chacago water hardness.

Second choice is

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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.

Reply to
Bob F

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.

Reply to
Jim Redelfs

I dont know about the water but I heard most of the Chicago man are SOFT !!!!

Reply to
emailaddress

Ajanta said in chi.general:

Soft as a baby's bottom.

Reply to
Scott en Aztlán

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?

Reply to
Malone

Mexicans

Reply to
Kk

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Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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.

Reply to
ME

You can read the report.

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Reply to
Jean Smith

"ME" said in chi.general:

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.

Reply to
Scott en Aztlán

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.

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

Cydrome Leader 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.

Reply to
Scott en Aztlán

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:

Reply to
Reneejane

you pipes clog shut in 30 years?

you might want to try something thicker than 1/4 tubing.

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

Cydrome Leader said in chi.general:

They can if you have hard water. Which Lake Michigan water is not.

Reply to
Scott en Aztlán

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/

If you are inclined to email me for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)

Reply to
mm

Most tropical fish are pretty soft. I can squeeze them between two fingers, without getting tired.

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Reply to
mm

I did that once. But then I got worried so I had a friend use his urine. We passed.

If you are inclined to email me for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)

Reply to
mm

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