The water here in Chicago is hard water. ( well at least in our apartment ) How do you make it into soft water. Is there a filter or something?
In Japan, the water is Soft water and is good for your skin, but after coming here the hard water has damaged my skin and hair. Is there some kind of shower attachment that can be used in an apartment?
Add salt.
You can buy a water softener, which is basically a big basin with a shwack of salt that all of your water runs through before it exits the tap.
This isn’t really practical for apartment dwellers that don’t have their own water-heater. I would suggest having baths instead of showers and adding some baking soda to the water.
It’s not as simple as adding salt. Here’s a How Stuff Works article on the Ion-Exhange Water Softener.
Will adding baking soda really do anything? Or is that just a guess. As I said, we are from Japan, and taking baths is our prefered method anyway.
Baking soda will soften the water, but you might need a lot of it. This page says a half a cup per bath. It seems like you would use a lot of baking soda if you used this method to soften your water.
You can buy commercial water-softening products that you simply add to bathwater or the washing machine. Calgon is one brand I have used but I’m sure there are others. Of course, none of this will help you with a shower.
Boil it.
A couple of table spoons of white vinegar in a bathful of water will help to reduce soap scum, if that’s the sort of application you are thinking of.