(1) Q: Why does my water smell like rotten eggs?
(2) Q: Why does it take so long to rinse the soap off my hands?
A: The terms "soft water" and "hard water" are important here. Water is said to be soft if it has a low concentration of calcium and magnesium ions in it, and hard water has a high concentration of calcium and magnesium. If you use soft water, the ions react with the soap you use to produce a residue that feels like it is hard to wash off. If you use hard water, you also will have a harder time working the soap up into a lather. Hard water is prevalent in some parts of the country, and sometimes water-softening chemicals that reduce the amount of calcium and magnesium are added to the water.
Find out more about hard water from the www.hardwater.org
(3) Q: How does our swimming pool stay so clean?
A: It is not an easy task to keep a swimming pool so clear and clean. If you just set a pan of water outdoors in the middle of summer, you'll see that it ends up containing gunk very quickly. People have to resort to both chemical and physical means to keep the water clean and safe for swimming. The water is continuously pumped through a filter to trap particles, like all those bugs that fall in. To keep algae and dangerous bacteria from growing, chemicals such as chlorine are added. Chlorine also is added to your drinking water to keep those bacteria out of your stomach.
(4) Q: Why is our porcelain sink stained brown?
A: The brown stain is from a large amount of iron in your water. It is closely related to simple rust you see on metal, which is iron oxide. The source of the water you use probably is ground water, and the water has filtered through rocks containing iron-rich minerals on the way to the well.
(5) Q: Why are some lakes I see full of algae and thick plants?
A: First of all, plants naturally grow in and around lakes. Maybe you're asking about a lake that is being choked off by too much algae. In many cases, humans are responsible. Actually, these lakes are being fed too much food for plants! There are certain chemicals we use that are nutrients (food) to plants. At our homes we fertilize our yards with nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. These chemicals wash off our lawns and eventually get into the water system, such as into creeks, rivers, and lakes. Once there, algae and plants have a feast on this "food." Things used to be worse for our water bodies. Phosphorus used to be an ingredient in our laundry detergent, but this has generally been phased out.
(6) Q: Why does my drinking water look cloudy sometimes?
A: Once in a while you get a glass of water, and it looks cloudy; maybe milky is a better term. After a few seconds it miraculously clears up! The cloudiness is due to tiny air bubbles in the water. Like any bubbles, the air rises to the top of the water and goes into the air, clearing up the water. The water in the pipes coming into your house might be under a bit of pressure, and gases (the air), which are dissolved in the pressurized water, will come out as the water flows into your glass, where is under normal atmospheric pressure.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu//qachemical.html
Page Contact Information: Howard Perlman
Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 13-Aug-2008 07:21:14 EDT
