MatthewDominquez Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 Recently, my living situation changed, and we transitioned from using well water to city water. While practicing my pottery throwing technique the other night, I noticed that after about an hour and a half, my fingers had become wrinkled from being soaked in water. I don't recall experiencing this issue when using well water, even after spending extended periods of up to four hours throwing. I'm wondering if the presence of "soft" water or the chemicals commonly found in municipal water could be the cause of these wrinkles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 (edited) I have always been told this is a natural function of skin, predominately hands and feet and extended exposure to water. It definitely happens to me using city, well, lake, stream, and swimming pool water. The dead skin cells absorb water and expand, yet living cells beneath do not. End result - wrinkles. Today this is debated I believe (the mechanism not the wrinkles) … and there are diseases that can present other symptoms as well as similar symptoms. (See Raynaud’s disease) well water can be hard in general and often contains many more organics, not sure of any correlation there though. It is possible that city water is softer, occasionally if sourced from a river. “Chemicals” is a pretty broad description so anything is possible though, but in general well water is untreated and can contain lots more stuff than city water. For most of us I think quite common to see after prolonged exposure to water — city or well. If in doubt, probably take pictures, record what you can about time exposure, temperature, etc…. and see your doctor to be sure. Edited January 31 by Bill Kielb Hulk and Rae Reich 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 (edited) Years ago I moved from a soft water area (Liverpool) to a hard water area (Essex), and my skin stopped wrinkling when I had a long baths. (Also I needed to use more soap, as hard water reduces its effectiveness.) A suggestion that the effects of moving from hard water to soft may be self-correcting over time. https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/wrinkly-fingers.html I suppose you might try experimenting with: - pre-exposure skin/barrier creams - slightly hardening the water you use for throwing (slightly because it may effect the clay) https://sciencing.com/make-hard-water-8191733.html https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/hardness-water General guidelines for classification of waters are: 0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft; 61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than 180 mg/L as very hard. Atlanta refs to confirm your suspicions about water hardness. https://www.atlantisplumbing.com/articles/city-water-vs-well-water/ City Water Vs. Well Water 2. Generally speaking, well water is hard water so a water softener is recommended for homes that use well water. https://www.hydroflow-usa.com/georgia-water-hardness Georgia water is considered soft water. The average water hardness for the Georgia resident is around 60 PPM. Atlanta, the most populous Georgia city has a water hardness level of 21 PPM which according to USGS water hardness measures is very soft. PS In this context mg/L = mg/kg = PPM Edited January 31 by PeterH Min, Bill Kielb, Rae Reich and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 I’ve always lived in hard water areas (my city’s website lists PPM in the 180’s for most of the year), and my fingers have likewise always wrinkled with extended exposure to water. Bill Kielb, Rae Reich and Hulk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 matthew, wherever you live there is a health department concerned with well water. check both the town/city and county to ask for help in figuring this out. you can be just a dumb as possible and they will help you through whatever they offer. if they recommend testing, they know who does it. if you bought a house you should know all about everything and they are there to help. go see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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