Q: I use well water at home. I have observed that this water has a pH of 5 only. The pH improves to normal once I boil the water. Hence we drink only boiled water. However, for bathing and washing our face and mouth we use the low pH water. Will this have any bad effect on the skin, hair, teeth etc.? I had used lime for neutralising the acidity and it worked, but I have to use 10 kg lime every month to maintain the pH of water at 7. Is the use of lime advisable?

A:Making water safe from bacteria is of major value for health with respect to acute illnesses such as hepatitis. Various ways are used to make water safe, and an example is the addition of fluoride to help teeth, or chlorine to inhibit algae as well as bacteria. These public utility attempts to improve water safety seem to have no serious ill effects. However, certain contaminants such as lead are very dangerous. The effect of acidity is unknown. Serious outcomes such as skin damage must be uncommon, but acne may occur with repeated exposure to chlorine.