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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1180 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for July 22, 2026

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

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I love beans, but I live in an area with incredibly hard water. So far the only option I've found is to use water from the store if I don't want leather-skinned beans. Baking soda works, but it messes with the flavor and texture.

Does anybody here have a better solution?

The bean club folks on Facebook suggest cooking the beans in a pressure cooker (most seem to use the instant pot) to deal with hard water if you don't want to use store bought water. Maybe give that a try?

I think some of us are also just sensitive to the taste of baking soda. There are some candies that use baking soda and I find them inedible. Baking soda biscuits are ok, I think the salt helps moderate the taste.

It is possible to install a water-softening machine, acting either on the entire house's water intake or just on a single faucet.

  • Educational pages: 1 2

  • Commercial pages: 1 2

I've looked at water softeners, but I've had a lot of people warn me that they'll obliterate older copper and cast iron pipes because the protective limescale will dissolve. Is there anything to that, or is it an old wives' tale?

Manufacturers' manuals (1 2) indicate that reverse-osmosis systems can make water acidic enough to corrode copper pipes. But water softening is not reverse osmosis.

This document from a (biased) trade association cites studies conducted by the US EPA and the UK Water Treatment Association for the conclusion that water softeners do not increase corrosion in copper and steel pipes. It also says that lime scale does not protect against corrosion.

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