What Are The Problems With Cloth Diapers And Hard Water?

The problems with Cloth diapers and hard water is because the water is high in minerals, such as magnesium and calcium in carbonate form. This could include other metals as well as sulfates and bicarbonates and the more minerals in the water, the harder the water is. To determine if your water is hard or soft, the easiest way is to watch for lather. Soft water lathers easily while hard water does not. Hard water is not very efficient when it comes to laundry and bathing. When you combine cloth diapers and hard water, it takes approximately twice as much laundry detergent to clean clothes in hard water as opposed to soft water. So the problems with cloth diapers and hard water becomes obvious. It is difficult to rinse cloth diapers and hard water effectively, so soap scum remains on the diapers.

Laundering affects cloth diapers and hard water in many ways. Hard water does not remove all the soil from the diapers. They often become dingy, grey and feel stiff and hard. A few ways to help control this laundry problem are:

• Always use the appropriate amount of detergent recommended for hard water, along with using the proper water temperature for the fabric.
• Detergents that contain a high concentration of surface-active agents or surfactants are not as affected by water hardness.
• Use a water conditioner or packaged water softener. Adding a water conditioner when washing cloth diapers and hard water and again, at the beginning of the rinse cycle, is effective. Use non-precipitating water conditioners, as they remove the waters hardness minerals and rinse them away.
• Purchase a water-softening unit. Water softeners work by exchanging harness mineral ions for potassium or sodium ions. This reduces the cloth diaper and hard water minerals to a passable level.

Along with cloth diapers and hard water problems, it also causes problems while bathing. When using soap in hard water, it leaves a film on the skin that does not rinse off. Your water company can test the water, so you know just how hard it is, and make the proper recommendations.