Question

Explain how ground water becomes hard water. Your answer must include balanced equations for any reactions mentioned?

Answer 1

"Hard water" is the term used when water contains a high amount of dissolved minerals, like the carbonates and/or chlorides of calcium, magnesium, manganese and iron.

Explanation:

Ground water becomes "hard' when the soluble minerals in the ground become dissolved in the water. There is no chemical reaction. The minerals simply dissociate as ions in solution.

It is called "hard" water because when the solubility is reduce by heating in normal usage, the minerals precipitate, forming hard scale layers on piping and appliances. It is also harder to dissolve or mix soaps in mineralized water.