After our first week of living in Brussels, a chalky substance accumulated on the faucets, the sinks and the bathtubs. What was it? Had the girls drawn with chalk in the bathrooms? Apparently, the water in Brussels is very hard and has a high concentration of calcium. I asked a new friend about it and they had the same problem (unfortunately, her husband had been living here for a year before she arrived so she really has her work cut out for her).
White Vinegar & Lemon Juice
I recently took the Hints Class to Living in Brussels at the American Women's Club of Brussels (AWCB). A class that I couldn't live here without - one session provided lots of great information about housecleaning in Brussels! After the AWCB presentation, I went to Carrefour, our local Walmart, and bought cleaning supplies. Not exactly how I imagined my days abroad, but we're making it a family project. The girls are having fun cleaning their sinks!
Using white vinegar is also a great solution. My friend Tania recommended that I mix white vinegar, water and lemon juice. It gets rid of the calcium build-up in a flash. Thanks Tania!
Kidney Stones
In addition to posing cleaning challenges, the calcium in the water causes health problems, namely kidney stones. We are now buying mineral water at our local grocery for drinking and cooking. We're only here for one year, but I don't want to risk an emergency room visit to one of the local French hospitals. Medical care here is excellent, but my french is very poor!
Laundry
Another result of high calcium content in the water is that clothes wear out faster. We bought new clothes for the girls for school over the summer. I have washed them just a few times, but I can see they have faded. I bought two drying racks at the local Carrefour and dry everything on the clothes rack now. I've also bought a product that supposedly cuts down on the calcium in the washer. I put in a tablet for each wash. Lots of time spent doing laundry....
Dishwasher
Another problem with high calcium deposits is that the dishes and glasses have spots. We need to add rock salt to the dishwasher (similar to the salt that we put out on the sidewalks in the States). Haven't done it yet, but will have Rich help me this weekend.
Ironing
Before leaving for Belgium a grandmother of Elisabeth's classmates told me I would need to iron. We've started ironing once a week in Brussels (usually while we watch TV in the evening). Lots of fun to iron together.
When we first started ironing our clothes, we noticed white chalky substance on the shirts when we used the steam setting. The calcium was everywhere! We need to use distilled water in the iron. Fortunately, we are able to get the distilled water from the washing machine compartment so we don't have to buy it.
Drycleaning in the States is very inexpensive. In contrast, one dress shirt in Brussels costs 6 or 7 euro (=$10). Happy to do the ironing ourselves and save money for travel in Europe.
