hard water, soft answers | Photrio.com Photography Forums

Gerald C Koch said:

I think that the use of Calgon was so wide spread it was banned over other water softeners. When phosphates get into bodies of water they act as fertilizer and encourage the growth of algae and other obnoxious weeds like water hyacinth and hydrilla. (Actually phosphorous is a major ingredient in most fertilizers.) Entire lakes in Florida and Georgia have been turned in plant soup choking out fish and other animals and good plants. Hydrilla fouls the props of motor boats.

Its selection might also be because it hydrolyses back to simple phosphates more readily than other pyro phosphates. Sometimes regulatory groups are a bit fuzzy in their reasoning.

So the story goes that the state of Florida tried to find a use for water hyacinth. One proposed solution was to dry it, chop it up, mix it with glue and make fiber board out of it. An engineer took a few sheets home and built a shed in his back yard. When the rainy season came the shed started to sprout.

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That water hyacinth must be one tough SOB. Yes, I remember when they removed the phosphates from all laundry detergent. We have a small lake(150 acres or so) near us that was formed during the glacial period and is one of the bowl lakes surrounded by high ground. All around the lake are orchards and farm land so all the farm land gets drained into the lake. When I was a kid the lake was a very good fishing lake with fairly clean, clear water. Years later after I got out of the service I decide to take a girlfriend over there to fish. Well, you honestly could not see your hand 4" under the water. Algae was so thick the lake looked emerald green. It also smelled like a sewer from dead aquatic plants that had died because they couldn't get enough sun light. What had happened was a well known big farmer started raising tomatoes around the one whole half the lake. He had giant tanks that said Liguid Green on the side and they were full of liquid fertilizer. He used this on the tomatoes and every time it rained the runoff would flood the lake carrying the Liquid Green with it. I don't have to tell you what happened. I don't know if the State of Michigan stepped in or not, but there are no tomato plants there now and the lake is almost back to normal. So I do understand what phosphates can do. I just wouldn't have thought Calgon would have been much of an impact.

That water hyacinth must be one tough SOB. Yes, I remember when they removed the phosphates from all laundry detergent. We have a small lake(150 acres or so) near us that was formed during the glacial period and is one of the bowl lakes surrounded by high ground. All around the lake are orchards and farm land so all the farm land gets drained into the lake. When I was a kid the lake was a very good fishing lake with fairly clean, clear water. Years later after I got out of the service I decide to take a girlfriend over there to fish. Well, you honestly could not see your hand 4" under the water. Algae was so thick the lake looked emerald green. It also smelled like a sewer from dead aquatic plants that had died because they couldn't get enough sun light. What had happened was a well known big farmer started raising tomatoes around the one whole half the lake. He had giant tanks that said Liguid Green on the side and they were full of liquid fertilizer. He used this on the tomatoes and every time it rained the runoff would flood the lake carrying the Liquid Green with it. I don't have to tell you what happened. I don't know if the State of Michigan stepped in or not, but there are no tomato plants there now and the lake is almost back to normal. So I do understand what phosphates can do. I just wouldn't have thought Calgon would have been much of an impact.

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I know this is a huge no no but I have tried everything as well and nothing works... we have a high lime content in our water so everything always has a white film on it in the dishwasher...

So I put about an eighth of a cup of "the works" toilet bowl cleaner (similar stuff to CLR but way cheaper and works great!) into our dishwasher with each load... everything comes out spotless... Also keeps the dishwasher from gunking up with all the lime as well...

Only other natural thing I tried that sorta worked was adding vinegar to the dishwasher... But I had to use a TON of it to make a difference and it seriously stunk up my whole house for the hour or two the dishwasher was running... The kids were gagging and all... LOL Vinegar is fairly cheap but you have to put one to two cups per each load and it adds up fast... Not to mention the gag factor... So I use the works for now till I can find a better solution...