Water definitely varies from one area to another. Ours has a variety of dissolved minerals in it, plus lots of dissolved gasses. I wonder if your Louisiana water was actually soft, Stitchnripper, as one of the qualities of hard water is that it makes soap difficult to rinse off dishes. I remember rinsing all of the dishes twice when I was a child, and still my father complained of his coffee mug tasting of soap. He installed a water softener soon after.
