Impurity of Well Water

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

[ The impurity of the Louisville water, so I evident to a stranger who uses it for the first time, and so clearly demonstrable by a very simple chemical analysis, is also observed when an attempt is made to wash with it, especially with soap. The attempt is a very disagreeable one to a person accustomed to pure or soft water. It is true that this water is rendered somewhat softer bv boiling, which causes it to deposit some ot its lime and magnesia ; yet the amount of soap annually decomposed and wasted, in the effort to wash in the hard water, would be found on calculation to be no small item of expenditure. Its dissolved, earthy salts cause it to form a thick incrustation in the steam boilers in which it is used, which retards the action of the heat of the furnace, causes the more rapid burning of the bottom ot the boiler, and thus renders probable more frequent bursting. For the same cause it is unfit for the use of the brewer, and for many uses to which water is applied in various manufacturing processes.— [Louisville, Ky., Courier. [Magnesia in drinking water is unwholesome ; it is believed to be the cause of cretinism in some parts of Switzerland and England. Lime water—carbonate of lime, is a soap eater. Hot slacked lime, strange as it may seem, cures the evil. A very small portion is required. It is now used in Manchester, England, in all the bleaching and calico print works, to make hard lime water soft. The people in Louisville will find a full account of the processes of making hard water soft on page 347, Vol. 7. Scientific American.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American