Cleaning gear with hard water or softened water

[coolfilmaker]

I recently installed a water softener in our house. It works by exchanging the mostly calcium or magnesium “hard water” ions for two sodium ions, therefore doubling the PPM of the water. I’m wondering which would be better to have left on my gear.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Not sure about the hard vs soft water or mineral content or ions........ but will say that HOT Fresh water is the best option for combating salt. Most folks have their water heaters already in their garage. It's really very little cost to install a H / C mix valve to your exterior hose bib and have that option available for rinsing dive gear, boats, trucks, dogs....etc! Just say'n!

 

[Bigbella]

I recently installed a water softener in our house. It works by exchanging the mostly calcium or magnesium “hard water” ions for two sodium ions, therefore doubling the PPM of the water. I’m wondering which would be better to have left on my gear.

Locally, we’re on mineral-laden well water, which carries with it an average ppm of about 275 — and my diving equipment is absolutely fine, with the possible exception of unsightly water spots . . .

 

[happy-diver]

Yeah on NW Dive Dawgs recommendation, I rushed out started hacking away, turns out I installed one
on the wrong side of the house, oh well that's for another day also with a shower for my big sandy feet

Thankfully I am fortunate to have access only to water from Gods tank in the sky

Ha I just realised I have a filtered limestone well inside the house, hope it doesn't develop into a sink hole
bottoms out at seventy something feet, then I may be able to dive it, and not have to wash my gear at all

 

[rick00001967]

what a great question. knowing nothing about water treatment systems i would have automatically assumed that using the soft water would be better. but i had no idea the two main minerals were replaced by salt.
but my uneducated opinion is the soft still has to be better than the hard no?

 

[Pearlman]

My apartment gets only hard water in the taps from the borewell and the sight of white deposits on metal surfaces constantly exposed to drips and splashes from the kitchen sink (ex: a drain plug lying around) to me are a clear warning to avoid soaking my gear in it. I use an RO purifier for drinking and use that when I need to soak my gear. Of course big stuff like my bp/w gets rinsed and dried at the dive destination (since I never dive closer to home). I only do a second rinse of the smaller stuff like regs and wetsuit at home as a precaution at the end of a dive trip.

 

[Badger7]

I recently installed a water softener in our house. It works by exchanging the mostly calcium or magnesium “hard water” ions for two sodium ions, therefore doubling the PPM of the water. I’m wondering which would be better to have left on my gear.

Any water that is drinkable should be more than suitable for rinsing your gear. The sodium ions in softened water that replace the magnesium and calcium ions would leave less insoluble deposits when the fabric dries than the hard water would.

If you have really hard water, and you want to really go overboard, get a barrel, fill it with an inexpensive Reverse Osmosis unit with a float valve fill, and after you completely rinse out your gear, swish it around in your RO filled dunk tank, just like a "spot free rinse" at the car wash.

 

[landphil]

I rinse my gear in fairly hard water. I just make sure to towel off anything with a lens or screen, cause letting a drop of water dry out will certainly leave a spot.

If you’re an ocean diver, I would guess that the amount of salt that gets left behind on your soft gear after rinsing a couple of times is probably still much more than you would find in softened water

 

[happy-diver]

Nah mate with a hot water you can still put your hand in soak and hose it's all dissolved away gone

 

[Pearlman]

Nah mate with a hot water you can still put your hand in soak and hose it's all dissolved away gone

Well my Uncle (Dr. Google) is a Ph.D in everything and he tells me this:

Hard water doesn't dissolve when heated, and it can actually cause problems for your water heater and pipes:

Mineral buildup
When heated, the minerals in hard water, like calcium and magnesium, settle at the bottom of your water heater tank and form a layer of sediment…

And I trust my uncle more than anyone else …