I wonder the same thing Gale. We also have well water which is very hard. We have a water softener, but that also is not good for irons. I use my reverse osmosis tap water in a spritz bottle. The only fish that will live in our water are gold fish. I use hard water and they are now 14yo, so must like it okay. I have to clean the mineral build up out of the filter or it would be clogged and dead too.