Author: Alexander Ramirez

Hard water / lime

The affects of hard water and water that contains a lot of lime in the water can be seen around the home. White lime deposits on sinks, on porcelain, coffee makers and tea pots. Lime deposits, often called limescale, usually occur most when water is heated and therefore large scale deposits occur in boilers and water heaters.

So what is hard water?

The hardness of the water is determined by two elements: these are magnesium and calcium. If the water contains high levels of these two elements, it is called hard water. The hardness of the water can be measured in German hardness (° dh), where the limit is 15 ° dh.

Is hard water dangerous?

Hard water is not dangerous to drink, however, it can cause problems and reduce the life of household products, such as coffee makers, dishwashers, washing machines, textiles, boilers, water heaters and more. This is because as the water gets heated, limescale precipitation occurs, thus forming coatings inside and outside pipes.

Skin irratation

When you shower in hard water, with sensitive skin you can notice these limescale deposits in some cases. The water lime deposits can penetrate the pores o the skin and these clog up, which in turn can lead to itching and reddening skin.

This can often lead to dry skin and skin conditions like dermatitis.

The hard water coffee test

With soft water, less amounts of coffee beans, laundry detergents, soap, shampoo, etc. are needed. You will notice how the soap will lather more easily instead of clotting together. Your hair and your skin will feel soft and your coffee tastes better.

The benefits of a Water Softener provide positive results at removing the mineral deposits and our simple coffee test proves it.

We tested how long the brewing time was and the amount of coffee powder required. The result showed that with filtering out the minerals takes about half of the amount of coffee powder, and a increases the brewing time of the coffee. This means that the soft water flows slower through the coffee powder and thus dissolves the evaporated coffee in the powder more completely resulting in a better cup of coffee.

Boiling Water Costs You Money

By boiling water everyday, you use a lot of energy. This costs money and also has a small impact in the environment. And it’s fairly common to boil water, in a kettle, be called away while as it boils and have to re-boil it again a few minutes later.

Variable temperature kettles are the answer and we’re on a mission to get the whole country using them. That will result in a big impact environmentally. And save people money at the same time. A win, win situation.

Temperature Control Kettle

Ideally you want a kettle that heats the water to a certain temperature of your choosing and keep it at that temperature for a while. Well the good news is that such kettles are made and there are some good examples to be found here variable temperature kettles

These variable temperature kettles behave just like normal kettles but you set the temperature. Normally at five degree increments. And most models have a function to keep the water at the temperature you’ve set for a few minutes. Which saves you having to reheat later and thus saves you time as well.

The Phone App for a Kettle

In the modern world everything seems to have a cell phone app. And these kettles are no exception. Some models have apps that allow you to control the kettle whilst being somewhere else and set off an alarm when the water’s ready to be used.

In my opinion, an app is a little bit of an over kill. But it doesn’t cost any more and if it’s something you’d use, then it’s ready to load and go.

The Perfect Cup of Tea or Coffee

You’re love these kettles if your a tea drinker or you prefer instant coffee. These hot drinks shouldn’t use boiling water. Boiling water affects the flavor. You get better results if you use water of the right temperature.

I drink jasmine tea a lot, which is why I bought a kettle so I can set the temperature. And straight away I noticed a more rounded taste. So for me out was money well spent.

New iPhones

Did you hear that Apple’s new iPhones come with wireless charging capabilities. About time I say. Both Samsung and Sony phones have had this feature for many years. In some ways iPhones are just catching up.

Well this is a great feature to have if you’re an iPhone aficionado and you’ve got a thousand dollars to spare to upgrade your phone. But what about if you have a model 7, a model 6 or even a model 5?

These old models are all perfectly capable have great cameras and other features. Well luckily there is a solution, I know because that’s what I use right now and the great news is that it’s not too expensive either. You can pick up some good models here wireless charger for iphone But first, here’s my story.

My Story

I live with a wife and three teenagers. We all have either iPhones or Android phones (three iPhones and two Android phones).

Now, no matter how many charge cables and/or USB transformers I buy. I’m always looking for a charger. Even when I set mine up in the bedroom and tell everyone “don’t touch” sooner or later it’s gone.

That was problem one, the other problem I had, I know it’s my own fault, was looking for, then grabbing my cell phone on the way out, with little or no charge. Happens to us all I’m sure

Android Users are Lucky

For the two Android phone users in our house, I got then a charging pad each. They’re not expensive and when not in use you put the phone on it and it charges. Slowly using something called induction

Good News for old iphones

When I looked into it, I found that there are kits you can buy for the iPhone which gives the iphone wireless charging capabilities as well. Very simple and easy to fit and as a bonus, both android and iPhones can use the same charger pads, aslong as the use the Qi charging protocol (most do).

As I said before charger pads are not that expensive so I’ve now got them all over the house. Two in the kitchen. One in my study one in the hall, one in the lounge and one each in each in all the bedrooms.

As an added bonus I don’t look for my phone anymore because the habit has taken hold. My phone must be on one of the pads. So it’s easy to locate and it’s been charging as well.

Wireless charging is so simple to do and so useful as well. You should definitely consider it for your old iPhone and bring it up to date.