Just a reminder to those with hard water: When hard water dries it leaves behind a certain amount of minerals from where the water evaporates. (Minerals only evaporate a temperatures well above room temperature!) Brushes have to air dry, even if most of the water is shaken out or brushed out onto a towel; the part of the water that air dries is leaving behind a mineral residue on your brush fibers. Having hard water in this harsh desert region, I have found a very noticeable improvement in brush performance by soaking brushes in white vinegar every once in a while, then rinsing off the vinegar; this removes much of the mineral deposits that take up the space where your soap and water should go. :signs021 That is my hypothesis and I am sticking to it!!
That is good to know that the vinegar helps to clean it up. The hard water is due to high amounts of calcium in your water, thus the white dried up stuff that builds up on your faucets and what not. When I am out of town and not sure of the water quality, I always buy a jug of water. I fill up a coffee mug with that water and throw it in the microwave to get it hot. Soak the brush, then after use, rinse in tap water then again in the mug with the bottled water before drying. It has worked well for me and you get a great laterh with the bottled water!
