Soft Water

[Trevor]

The Thais don't quite have a concept of hard and soft water. One of the joys of the country is the marvellously-soft water compared to the calcified muck I have to bathe with in southern England. In Thailand soap develops a wonderful lather and the water leaves skin feeling really soft and clean.

So how can I wax lyrical to the Thais about their water? And criticise my own? Thanks.

[lotus eater]

Is the water uniformly soft everywhere in the country or is it a regional thing? Is regional what's the rough distribution of soft/hard? eg how does the north compare with Bkk or the south of the country?

[DavidHouston]

Apparently, the Thai word for "hard water" is น้ำกระด้าง while the term for "soft water" is น้ำอ่อน. See, for example, the engineering report at http://www.4uengineer.com/modules.php?name...icle&sid=64

Here is the term on Lexitron:

น้ำกระด้าง [N] hard water

Def. น้ำซึ่งเมื่อฟอกกับสบู่แล้วเกิดตะกอนขึ้น ซึ่งเรียกว่า ไคลสบู่ และไม่มีฟองสบู่เกิดขึ้นหรือเกิดขึ้นน้อย ทั้งนี้เพราะมีเกลือของแคลเซียมและแมกนีเซียมละลายอยู่.

"Water which when soap is used in bathing creates residue. This is called "soap scum." In addition, soap will not foam or lather or will produce only a small amount of lather. This phenomenon exists because of the presence of dissolved calcium or magnesium salts in the water."

Sample:น้ำกระด้างมีผลต่อระดับความสมดุลย์ของปลาที่เลี้ยงไว้

"Hard water affects the equilibrium level of aquarium fish."

[My translations of the definition and sample; please correct if you see an error. Thanks.]

[Trevor]

Thanks for replies. Bangkok's water seems slightly harder than the north-east or south but is still waaay better than southern England's chalk-saturated muck.

[DavidHouston]

I know one thing for sure: Living in Bangkok is way harder than living in the South.

[Trevor]

I know one thing for sure: Living in Bangkok is way harder than living in the South.

Not if you have to take cold-water showers on Koh Phayam. Don't much care for the rough attitudes of southern people either.