Curious why soap does not foam much in well water?
Here is the short answer:
Soap does not foam much in well water, because well water can be hard water. And in hard water foam does not lather well.
For the long answer read on.
Before talking about foam and well water, it is good to understand what foam is. It is also good to know the components of good water and how they affect foam formation. Foam appearance does not necessarily mean that it has been triggered by human factors. Foam can appear naturally especially in lakes, rivers or even streams. When the physical characteristics of water are interfered with or altered due to organic materials being present, then foam can form.
This is how foam is formed; water and any other liquid possess a property called the surface tension and water molecules are always attracted to each other. The molecules attractions make the pulling of the foam substances at the surface. Substances like soap decrease the surface tension of water.in foam formation, there is always the presence of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules in the soap.so, one end is always attracted to the water and another end is not making foam to form and rise on the top of the water.
Soap is made from fatty acids and the fatty acids have both the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic molecules. The hydrophobic is always the water repelling element in soap and the hydrophilic is the water-loving aspect of soap. To have foam, the hydrophilic end of the soap gets in contact with the fats or the grease that one is trying to remove from cloths hands or anything that needs cleaning. It then dissolves them. The hydrophilic also makes the water molecules soluble so that when you try to wash your clothes or hands, the dirt and soap are washed away.
Foam Formation in Water from the Well
Water from the well is categorized under hard water.Therefore, the first reason why less foam is formed in water from the well because water from the well is hard water. Hard water is water that has high mineral contents.it can be a permanent hardship or temporal hardship depending on the metal ion contents that are present in the water. The minerals that might be present in hard water include calcium and magnesium ions.
In the case of temporary water hardness, there is usually the presence of dissolved bicarbonate minerals .the dissolution of this bicarbonates yields calcium cations and magnesium cations and goes further to yield the carbonate anions and bicarbonate anions. The metal cations in the well make the water hard.
In permanent water hardness, the hardness of the water cannot be removed by boiling this is because the water contains calcium sulfate and magnesium sulfate that do not usually precipitate as the temperature increases.
With the well as a source of hard water, instead of foam or lather being produced, a white precipitate is produced instead. This is because the cations present in the water damage the surfactant nature of the soap to form a solid precipitate. This usually results in the small content of foam formation.
The heavy metallic elements, that is the calcium and the magnesium can react with soap molecules to form an insoluble precipitate. And since the soap molecules will have been removed from the solution, there will be no enough molecules left to form the foam. You will automatically notice that you have used hard water after noticing a ring around the container that you have been using in cleaning or in the bathtub.
To make water from the Well form lather or foam, it must undergo a process that might break the iron chains or break the hardness. We have ways by which water can be made soft again. Softening hard water is the process of removing the calcium ions and magnesium ions that might be present in the well water resulting in little foam formation or no foam at all.
The Methods That Can Be Used To Soften Hard Water Include
- Boiling
- Using an ion exchange filter
- Lime softening
- Distillation
- Reverse osmosis
Since well water contains hard metal and minerals, it requires softening in order to produce lather or foam. The above methods can be the best solutions for foam formation.
Boiling
Boiling is a method of softening hard water by removing the calcium and magnesium ions that might be present in the water. It breaks up the ions leaving the water fresh and soft. Though boiling is a method of water softening, it can only be used in softening hard water that is not permanent.
Distillation
This is a method whereby water is heated until vaporization starts occurring. The vapor is collected and left to cool changing back to the normal liquid state. Usually, the end results are a collection of pure water that is soft and not hard anymore.
Reverse osmosis
In this method of water softening, the calcium and the magnesium ions are eliminated in the semi-permeable membrane where a certain pressure is applied.in this method, only the water molecules are allowed to pass through the semi-permeable membrane making the end product soft and clean.
Lime Softening
This is the process of water softening that entails adding lime to the hard water. Lime added to the hard water always breaks down the magnesium and calcium bonds present in the water making the water softer.
Using Of Ion Exchange Filter
This is the most common method of softening hard water.it simply entails exchanging the calcium ions and the magnesium ions present in the water with sodium ions.in this case, the calcium ions and magnesium ions charge will exchange with the charge of the sodium. This leaves the water soft.
Conclusion
water from the well is hard water. This means that, when one uses it for cleaning or washing, it will form a white precipitate instead of forming lather or foam. This is always due to the heavy calcium and magnesium ions that are present in the water. The element of hard water can make it difficult especially when you want to wash or clean.one can use too much soap and more energy to wash because hard water makes everything hard. If one is using well water, it is advisable to soften it first to avoid using too much soap and taking very long in cleaning.