2022.06.10Have you ever heard about soft water and hard water? The difference between two types of water is actually very simple. Soft water contains less calcium and magnesium: Soft water has under 60 mg/L Hard water has 120 to 180 mg/L They might taste slightly different but, hardly say which one tastes better. It depends on personal preference and also, depends on which food or beverage you are having. Water of European countries is mostly hard water, here in Japan, it’s soft water. It’s said soft water works better with laundry detergent, while hard water needs to be heated in order to dissolve soap scums. That’s why when some foreigners moved to Japan and surprised by the fact that the wash machine does not have the function of warm water washing. It’s totally fine to wash laundry using cold water here and in most cases, the clothes will end up in clean enough. Also, you won’t find soap scum left in the wash machine. Here are some brands of water for your reference if you are interested in finding out how different they taste like. Water brands of Contrex, Evian, Perrier, as we know are from France, are hard water. Volvic, though is from France, but it is soft water. Rather than these, you can try a local Japanese water of SUNTORI (サントリー) brand. According to their website, water source from Southern Alps( 南アルプス), North Alps (北アルプス) and Oku-Daisen (奥大山) are soft water, while Aso (阿蘇) is mild hard water.

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