Issue with Nuvo Water Filter/Conditioner

[tjdmlhw]

We just had a whole house Nuvo Water Filter/Conditioner unit installed in our home and we have noticed a strange taste to the water. It's not really a chemical taste, but close to it.

Is this normal? Has anyone else with one of these units experience an unpleasant flavor to their water?

[Bogie Shooter]

What is the installer saying?

[Stu from NYC]

We just had a whole house Nuvo Water Filter/Conditioner unit installed in our home and we have noticed a strange taste to the water. It's not really a chemical taste, but close to it.

Is this normal? Has anyone else with one of these units experience an unpleasant flavor to their water?

If unpleasant first thing is call the people you purchased it from.

[Hardlyworking]

Did you flush the system?

[CFrance]

Do you mean Nuvo or Nova? If Nova, you have to turn every faucet in the house on and run for 15 minutes before drinking the water.

[tjdmlhw]

What is the installer saying?

Kiley and Sons' office was closed last night and the message says they are closed until Monday. I had hoped someone could offer a suggestion to try before then or could tell me if Nuvo does make the water taste different.

The tech that installed the system did flush the line, but only to the utility faucet in the garage. I will try flushing the system by opening all of the faucets in the house and letting them run for 15 minutes.

If that doesn't help, I guess I'll have to wait until Monday and call them.

Thanks for your reply

[tjdmlhw]

Do you mean Nuvo or Nova? If Nova, you have to turn every faucet in the house on and run for 15 minutes before drinking the water.

It is Nuvo

[Worldseries27]

Change them every 4 months . Cheap. Fill pots right from my ge dispenser. No issues

[Ski Bum]

A water softener works by exchanging salt (sodium chloride) for the other minerals in the water. When you take the existing minerals out, and exchange them for salt, it will taste different, but not unpleasant.

[jimkerr]

No, you shouldn’t taste a chemical taste. Why did you not go with Nova?

[CosmicTrucker]

I experienced this with our Nova install. I think the installer was a little heavy with the glue they use to connect the pipes. Flush your system by running the water at every faucet for at least 15 minutes. You may still detect a slight odor and taste for two or three days after. I would still call and let the installer know if your still having trouble by Monday

[Kenswing]

A water softener works by exchanging salt (sodium chloride) for the other minerals in the water. When you take the existing minerals out, and exchange them for salt, it will taste different, but not unpleasant.
According to their website Nuvo is a saltless system.
NuvoH2O - Get Your Saltless Water Softener Now! (https://nuvoh2o.com/?utm_medium=paid&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Search%20-%20NuvoH2O%C2%AE&utm_network=g&utm_placement=&utm_source=106051396749&utm_prodid=&gclid=CjwKCAjwh-CVBhB8EiwAjFEPGSLyZciJewVIL-SYAC3OTKEInPmoxvomRNQkcq81ZkIHFwEVkmOK1xoCuZ8QAvD_ BwE)

[Speedie]

The chemicals in the new plastic parts take some time to leach out in the water. I would flush out drinking water lines for 15 min before drinking for several days after installation. Same after new filters installed

[Remembergoldenrule]

We love our Nova system and no strange tastes. This is second house with it. We did flush every facet in house for 15 - had all on at same time. We suggest you call installer.

[jimbo2012]

The Nuvo is primarily a softener, with minor filtering.
The softener uses Citrus cartridge unlike all other softeners there is much controversy as to how a citus based system does NOT remove the calcium & magnesium,

But

[I"The NuvoH2O system binds and isolates the hard mineral ions with a process known as chelation. Once bounded to CitraCharge®, NuvoH2O’s binding agent, the mineral cannot form scale". [/I]

In other words it claims to encapsulate or suspend the calcium, but it's still remains in the water.

The phrase salt-free water softener is a bit of a misnomer. This is because salt-free water softeners don’t technically soften the water. Instead, they condition the water by crystalizing the calcium and magnesium ions to keep them from forming scale within a plumbing system.
So, salt-free water softeners should really be called salt-free water conditioners.

Last point, the Nuvo system does not have a sediment filter, that is very important here in TV.

Salt & potassium softeners have been in use about 100 years, time tested.

[lawgolfer]

A water softener works by exchanging salt (sodium chloride) for the other minerals in the water. When you take the existing minerals out, and exchange them for salt, it will taste different, but not unpleasant.

Conventional water softeners do not "exchange salt for other minerals". They exchange a sodium ion for an ion of the substance which is making the water "hard", usually calcium. Salt is used because it is cheap and readily available as a base to supply the sodium ion. The calcium is permanently removed from the water and flushed to a drain.

The fiction that conventional water softeners add salt to the house water has scared numerous people and has been used as a sales tactic by unscrupulous sellers of non-conventional softeners.

Nuvo, and similar systems such as Ivo, add a small amount of citric acid to the water. The acid works as a chelating agent which "binds" to the calcium and does not allow it to collect on faucets, shower heads etc. These systems remove nothing from the water. To the contrary, the water, together with the chelated calcium and citric acid continue to be present in the water in the house.

The continued presence of the calcium, even though bound to the citric acid, is why these systems do not provide the benefit of cleaner laundry which a conventional salt-based water softener provides. Also, the presence of the citric acid lowers the pH of the water and may, itself, be the source of the off-taste of the water of which the OP complains. If there is an excess of citric acid over the amount required to bind the amount of calcium in the water, the excess acid will be present in the water entering the house.

Nuvo, and similar brands, make a point that their systems do not require the homeowner to "lug" heavy bags of salt to, periodically, fill the softener's tank. This is true; however, it overlooks the heavy work of changing the filters in their systems twice a year. The filters are in a heavy plastic housing which mount vertically and screw into a manifold. As the housing and filter will be filled with water, they are very heavy and present a challenge when they are removed and installed. They are nearly identical to the iSpring filter system I have, in combination with a conventional salt-based softener. I assure you it is quite a task to change out such filters and a lot more work than "lugging" a couple of bags of salt to fill my softener's tank. Finally, a few bags of salt costs a fraction of the cost of changing Nuvo's filters twice a year.

These are the primary reasons why citrus-based systems will never supplant salt-based systems. In simple terms, they do not work nearly as well, cost more, and, actually, add citric acid to the water.

The iSpring system, which uses an activated charcoal filter, is a great addition to a conventional softener. Admittedly, it has the problem of removing/replacing a heavy, plastic housing filled with water. However, it is the only way to remove offensive odors, primarily chlorine, from household water. The first time I took a shower in our new house in The Villages, the chlorine smell was overpowering and akin to sniffing an open bottle of chlorine bleach. I immediately started a search for a filtering system and settled on iSpring along with a conventional softener from Home Depot.

[coffeebean]

Change them every 4 months . Cheap. Fill pots right from my ge dispenser. No issues

I have a GE Profile fridge and I change the fridge filter every 6 months. The water is delicious and even better than most bottled water. Only Fiji bottled water can compete with our fridge water.