After one year of storage, I took out my steamer iron from my cupboard to iron my wrinkled corduroy pants.
To my surprise, the iron started to spout out scales (mineral precipitate). I had taken for granted that water here is hard compared to Singapore. Hard water has high mineral content, usually consisting of calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate and sulfate ions. It is harder to lather soap or toothpaste with hard water than soft water.
In the span of almost two years, I had encountered two victims suffering from kidney stones which are usually calcium oxalate. I wonder if there is a correlation between hard water and kidney stones.
This brings me to another aspect where one had to adjust to a new environment. There is a Chinese phrase "水土不服 (shui2 tu3 bu4 fu2)" which means water and soil are not "compatible " with those back home. My friend even suggested that I mixed a portion of water brought from home together with water here so that I would not get sick.
My Serbian colleague also told me that fruits and meat tasted different. Well, soil and climate do play a big part in husbandry.
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1 comment:
If you only use the iron once a year, the deposits could be decades old!!! There may be an archeologically significant discovery lurking within that iron.
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