On Feb 15, 12:25 pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
"Jerry" wrote in message

oups.com...



I am looking for advice on water filters/softeners.

We live in Idaho. Our water isn't too bad. It is city water and has
some slight taste to it. It is also somewhat hard (compared to our
previous house in Colorado), but enough different that we can tell
just in how our hair feels when it is washed.

Now we just bought a new house that is plumbed for a softener
(probably just the hot water or water line that doesn't include the
kitchen or refigerator lines). We would like to make the water taste
better and perhaps be a little bit softer. Since we have been busy
with other aspects of moving in, we haven't had a water test done yet.

I guess I am looking for advice on what we should be looking for and
how to best go about it.

Thanks,

Jerry

You might consider treating the two issues separately. For instance, a
charcoal-based filter just for drinking water may be enough to deal with the
taste. You can experiment cheaply by first trying a Brita jug. If you like
the results, go bigger.

As far as water hardness, that can be divided into two issues:

- Does its "feel" really matter that much? If not, do nothing.

- Is the water hard enough to mess with the internal workings of faucets?
You probably haven't been there long enough to find out. Ask a neighbor.

Here's an excerpt from my county's water quality report:
" Water hardness is a measure of the mineral content of water. Our water,
which has a Total Hardness of between 5.6 and 7.6 grains per gallon, is
considered "moderately hard". By way of comparison, before they switched to
MCWA, many local communities used ground water supplies with Total Hardness
values of more than 20 grains per gallon."

Worst cho I have to remove the shower head once or twice a year, soak it
in hot vinegar, rinse it, and screw it back on. Based on how the faucets
feel, I may have to take them apart and soak & scrub the cartridges soon.
This is a once every two year thing.

You are not aware of all the hidden costs of living with water with
more than 3-4 gpg of hardness.

The biggest cost is the water heater, the additional fuel it costs and
premature failure of either electric elements or oil and gas fired
heaters. All fabrics washed in hard water wear out much sooner than if
softened water is used. You use much more detergent, softening agents,
cleansers, hand soaps, shampoo, skin cream and oils while suffering
dry itchy skin and it takes more time to clean the water using
appliances. Coffee pots and all other water using appliances fail much
sooner on hard water than on soft water. All that costs more than the
right softener and to feed it some salt every month or two.

To learn about correctly sizing a softener etc.
www.qualitywaterassociates.com

Gary
Quality Water Associates