edouard
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making hard water soft for shaving purpose
hi
i have a hard water and cannot built consistent lather.
what would be the easiest way to solve the problem without loosing time with filtration.
i mean what product sould i use considering i don't want to produce nasty byproducts for my face
thanks
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domaani
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I suggest getting a reverse osmosis apparatus.
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Picric-A
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cant you just buy a water softener?
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hissingnoise
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Or finally grow a beard, like the rest of us. . .
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12AX7
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Borax was always used in laundry for that, wasn't it?
Tim
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watson.fawkes
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Washing soda got its name by scavenging the metal ions that make water hard (principally calcium and magnesium), preventing them from binding to
surfactant molecules. More recent practice is to use trisodium phosphate (TSP) to complex these ions. Both of these are available off the shelf in
most areas. This being a significant consumer chemical category, there are a number of other agents and methods used, should you want to get
experimental. This class of chemicals are called "builders" in the trade.
Borates, on the other hand, are in the class of bleaches.
The easiest way to use this is to mix up a wash bottle of "lather water" and squirt some in when it's time to shave. Do a few trials with increasing
concentrations to find a mix that works for you.
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edouard
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thanks for your answers,
| Quote: | Originally posted by watson.fawkes
Washing soda got its name by scavenging the metal ions that make water hard (principally calcium and magnesium),
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considering that washing soda will increase pH of my basic hard water,
what pH can take my face?
thanks
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12AX7
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| Quote: | Originally posted by edouard
what pH can take my face?
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Oh, pH 10 and over will irritate and more than 12 will, quite literally, "take your face".
Tim
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watson.fawkes
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The pH of washing soda, dissolved in pure water, is 11. But you wouldn't be dissolving it in pure water, but in water that already has metal ions in
it. Neither magnesium nor calcium carbonate is very soluble in water, so adding the first bit of washing soda will cause precipitation. The pH won't
rise very much until this precipitation is finished.
In other words, don't start with a double fistful.
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edouard
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| Quote: | Originally posted by watson.fawkes
The pH of washing soda, dissolved in pure water, is 11. |
doing my homeworks i noted that baking sode (a less effective softener) acts as a buffer,
mixing them should prevent excessive pH increase, no?
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not_important
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It would, but then calcium and magnesium bicarbonates are somewhat soluble, indeed being the type of water hardness referred to as "'temporary
hardness" because on boiling the CO2 is driven off and the normal carbonates precipitate out.
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edouard
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| Quote: | Originally posted by not_important
It would, but then calcium and magnesium bicarbonates are somewhat soluble, |
i understand that Ca & Mg bicarbonates will contribute to hardness as Ca2+ & Mg2+ did.
so what would make a better buffer in this situation? vinegar?
thanks
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watson.fawkes
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You only need a buffer if you're putting in too much base. So don't put in too much base. You can tell when you've got too much base with a pH
indicator. Turmeric (the spice) is a pH indicator with a broad transition range, from yellow at 7.4 to orange/red at 8.5. You can use a titration test
with indicator to tell you how much base to use when you mix up an ordinary batch.
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edouard
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thanks,
so considering hard water is definied as concentration > 100mg/l of CaCO3 equiv
i would say 0.5 g/l Na2CO3 would be a good start.
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watson.fawkes
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500 mg/L Na<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> seems a reasonable starting point. Remember though, that at the end of the day, you're
measuring the amount of Ca<sup>2+</sup> and Mg<sup>2+</sup> in your water. Some amount of experimentation is going to be
necessary until you have an estimate of just how hard your water is.
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edouard
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| Quote: | Originally posted by watson.fawkes
500 mg/L Na<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> seems a reasonable starting point. Remember though, that at the end of the day, you're
measuring the amount of Ca<sup>2+</sup> and Mg<sup>2+</sup> in your water. Some amount of experimentation is going to be
necessary until you have an estimate of just how hard your water is. |
thanks
so considering its solvability is 30g/L i make 2L bottle of distilled water with 50g in order to ease my "cooking"
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JohnWW
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What about passing it through a laboratory-type deionizer, which consists mainly of a column packed with ion-exchange resin beads?
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chloric1
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Borates, carbonates oh my! Lets stray from the harsh alkaline ream for a moment as not overlook a gentler alternative. ZEOLITES! The
polyphosphates, metaphosphate, and orthophosphate builders of yesteryear have been subplanted with zeolite substitutes. At least where I live I can
go to the pet store in the fish section, and buy "lab grade Zeolite" used for ammonia removal. I ran 25% NaCl solution through a column of this twice
and all or most of the naturally occuring calcium was removed. Potassium chloride would work even better. So convert your zeolite into the sodium
moeity, shake vigorously with a couple litres of your tap water and filter it out with your fresh decalcified water.
Fellow molecular manipulator
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Phosphor-ing
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Or you can just buy distilled(soft) water by the gallons, cheap.
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" -Ronald Reagan
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edouard
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chloric1
I ran 25% NaCl solution through |
you wrote 25% right i.e. 250g NaCl/L ????
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edouard
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Phosphor-ing
Or you can just buy distilled(soft) water by the gallons, cheap. |
well, the carbonate solution sounds even cheaper
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