hard and soft water

[lauren1001]

why do different areas have hard and soft water?

[ally101]

I think hard water is 'natural' water from eg rivers and rain and soft water is treated water like from the tap... don't quote me on this.. I might be wrong!

[joko]

merseyside is soft water and there is never any limescale buildups on taps etc. It think thats how you can tell what your area is

[Gef]

All of our water comes from rain. If the rain has to percolate through limestone type rocks then some of the limestone dissolves and you get hard water - water which contains calcium (and possibly) magnesium ions which form a scum with soap. If the underlying rocks are insoluble then the water tends to be soft. Water ehich flows from the Pennines tends to be hard; the west of Scotland, where I live, has very soft water.