Your clothes don’t lie. Wash a load of whites enough times in New Orleans tap water, and they start to look like they’ve been through a pirate shipwreck—dingy, gray, and sad.
Hard water makes detergent less effective, so you end up using more powder or liquid. Suddenly, you’re in a costly arms race with your washing machine, and the water is winning.
You’ll find yourself Googling “water softener systems” at 2 AM, after staring at a particularly tragic pair of underwear. It’s a rite of passage, really.
But Is It Really That Bad?
Let’s put it in perspective. New Orleans water isn’t the kind of hard water that leaves actual rocks in your pipes like you see in horror stories from New Mexico. It’s more of a persistent nuisance, like a friend who always shows up ten minutes late.
How old are New Orleans' water pipes? Interactive S&WB graphic gives
You can drink it—the city’s water is actually tested pretty well for safety. It’s just not winning any awards for “most pleasant shower experience.”
If you’re renting, you might not care enough to buy a whole-house system. You’ll just complain about it to your friends over a po’boy, and they’ll nod in sympathy, because everyone has a story about the “white stuff” in their ice maker.
