[coffeebean]

We do not have a water softener or a whole house filter. With the exception of water used during cooking which comes directly from the tap, all the water we drink in our home comes from the filtered water dispensed from the fridge. I will, on occasion, drink water from the tap which is not filtered and I'm still alive to tell about it. It doesn't taste as good as the fridge filtered water but it is still acceptable for me. The filtered water from the fridge is delicious and hubby and I both love the taste. To me, the water tastes better than some bottled water which , to me, tastes terribly metallic. Our fridge water also tastes much better, to me, than my sister's water which is from a whole house filter. I find her water to have that terrible metallic taste that I dislike.

As for safety, the drinking water here in TV is safe. I have looked over the annual report sent to each household addressing the safety of the water. All the levels tested are within a safe range.

As for the hardness of the water.....I do find that once a month, I have to clean our faucets with Lime Away to remove the calcium deposits which appear whitish on the outside of the faucets. Calcium does degrade the springs and seats inside the faucets. I have had to change out those parts because of the calcium build up but that is only about every couple of years. I'd rather do that than maintain a system to soften the water. Plus....the faucet parts are under lifetime warranty so I receive them for free. After I learned how to change the springs and seats, it is a very easy process. I even told Delta Faucet company that the springs and seats are failing because of our hard water. They continue to send the parts to me for free.