Soap scum principles

The soap is one of the most popular materials in any house. It is said that soap with less lather is less efficient than one with a lot of lather. Nowadays, many people use natural soaps because they are very good and have a natural smell.

But the quality of the soap you us depends a lot on the water you use with it. Although there is only one water type, it can be divided in two categories: hard and soft. It is to be noticed that hard water can affect the cleaning and washing process. At the same time, in combination with soap, it creates soap scum. Let us see how hard and soft water reacts in combination with soap.

 Chemical reaction of soap

The main characteristic of the water is the surface tension; this reaction can be observed when you let a drop of water fall on a surface. You will see that the water droplets have a spherical shape; a drop of water will never spread on a surface due to its shape. While cleaning our bodies, the surface tension is not so big. This way the water molecules cover the whole surface you clean.  The substances and chemicals in the soaps disperse in the water, thus helping the cleaning process. Soaps dissolve in the water, potassium or sodium salts of fatty acids. Usually, soaps contain oils and fats. The process of manufacturing soaps is called saponification. Soaps are very good cleaners that emulsify insoluble particles and fat.

Hard water vs. soft water

Hard water contains a large amount of minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron and manganese. Besides these minerals, this water type also includes dissolved compounds of carbonates and sulfates. Usually, hard water does not create lather with soap because of its mineral content. There are also two types of hardness: temporary and permanent. You can remove temporary hardness by boiling the water while permanent hardness requires the installation of a water softener.

Soft water contains no minerals, only a small amount of anions and a lot of sodium. This water forms lather with soap. Soft water has a salty taste.

Soap scum

One of the most common problems that hard water produces is soap scum. Soap scum is the result of the minerals in the hard water interaction with the chemicals in the soap. The soap scum is actually a compound that does not dissolve into water. Although many people believe that soap scum appears because the soap they use is not good, they are very wrong. Soap scum is the consequence of the minerals in hard water.

Many soap manufacturers have improved their recipes in order to avoid soap scum occur by adding new ingredients. Some of these ingredients are natural extracts such as coconut oil; these natural additives can make any soap produce more lather even in had water.

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