Question

Why are we not able to check if water is hard while using detergents?

Answer 1

Unlike soap, they do not react withcalcium and magnesium ions presentin hard water to form scum. ... This means that detergents can be used inboth soft and hard water. Therefore, itcannot be used to check whether the water is hard or not.

Answer 2

Answer:

• It is not possible to check if water is hard by using a detergent because detergents are salts of ammonium or sulphonates of long chain carboxylic acids.

• Unlike soaps they do not react with calcium and magnesium to distinguish nature of water.