The message
from Salty Thumb contains these words:

uckoff (theoneflasehaddock) wrote in
:

Hard would be alkaline, soft, acidic, I believe. I might be mixed up,
though.


Hard water just means there are plenty calcium, magnesium or similar
elements in solution. Gradually, they can form hard deposits on your
plumbing (the same way stalactites and stalagmites form in caves - drip,
drip, deposit mineral, drip, drip). Naturally, the presence of calcium
etc ions will make the water alkaline, but soft water denotes the absence
of those ions, not acidity.

In West Scotland, public water has usually run down mountains through
peat moors, so it's pretty acid. Glasgow's public water supply is
wonderfully "soft". It dissolves lead in old pipes :-(, but is great for
hairwashing and bubble baths, and you can safely use it to water your
azaleas.

Where I live (Arran) had a soft, acid public water supply from a peaty
hill loch, until a few years ago. It wasn't reliably sufficient for
modern needs so a new bore-hole was sunk in (limestone) rock;
consequently we now have hard, alkaline water.

Janet.