Any horror stories for NOT having a water softener?
 

My house is in Historic District/Lady Lake.

I've been researching about Water Softeners, and I haven't seen any ultimatums about them, i.e. "You must have a water softener or your pipes will clog up and then you have excavate under your house to fix them..." or something of that nature.

Any thoughts?

Are water softeners a "must have" if you live in TV?

Thanks in advance.
Back9

They are not totaly necessary, but they are definitely an asset in my humble opinion.
Our dishes come out better from the dishwasher, and the laundry uses less powder and does not need added softeners.
I also like a filter on the drinking tap, as I can't stand the clorine taste of unfiltered water..
However. Many of our friends do not have it, and are more than happy without it, so it comes down to preference in the end.
As for the pipe work, the only ones I worry about clogging up, are the ones pushing my blood around!

It is a personal decision. But, I think the water in The Villages is as good as most places I have lived, and I have never had a water softener or whole house filter.

Us too.

Ditto

I think the answer has to do with the age of your house and the composition of your pipes. In '15 I bought a house which was 25 years old. In early '18 one copper pipe developed a pinhole leak and flooded the interior of the house. Took 4 weeks to repair what should have been a 2 day job. Every workman who came out commented that "once you have a pinhole leak , you will have others." Who knew that copper pipes were bad in Florida? Up north they are an asset. One of the stopgap fixes suggested was installation of a water softener. To properly fix the problem would have cost 5% of the home's value--if it could be done. Four different companies came out to give me an estimate and 2 of them flat-out declined to do it. This was for a small house.

Never needed one where I am, I'm just glad I don't get this horribly tainted water that all these other places do. My dishes, clothes, and tap water are just fine. But I'm also not one to spend a bunch of money because others tell me I should. It amazes me how many people who haven't even moved here yet are convinced to spend thousands of dollars before they even get a chance to find out if they need to.

We find the water suitable. No problems with laundry. Drinking water tastes better than ours in Ohio. Been here 10+ years.

We have no big problem other than bloodshot eyes after a shower. Not buying enormous amounts of bottled water will be nice and I have seen with my own little bloodshot eyeballs the filters when they are changed on The Nova System. There is stuff in the water. We're in the 4th quarter of life and I don't want to leave to much money to the kids. Can't wait. Should have done it two years ago but you know how it is. Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow.

You don't have to have it but it's a nice thing to have. Hope that helps. We live in the Historical Section.

Hmm, I am only seeing testimonies, not people telling you to buy something before you get down here. There are facts and opinions being presented, for and against, but nobody is pushing anybody to buy something "water untried."

Having a water softener is 100% personal preference. there are THOUSANDS of homes in The Villages that do not have water softeners or water filters. It is important to note that a water SOFTENER and a water FILTER are two different things.....although some companies will sell and/or combine both.

I personally like whole house water filter. I recommend the NOVA filter system, as it does a good job at a good common sense price.

So, a few facts;

1) Prices for water systems vary...a lot. Some companies are known for being very "hard sell" with high mark-ups. There is sometimes no correlation between what you are charged and the quality of what you are buying.

2) Some people LOVE softened water....especially if they had a softener for years in their "old house". I personally do not like the feel of softened water....I think it feels somewhat "slimy". Just my personal opinion. In a 12 year old home I recently bought, there was a working water softener. I ripped it out and tossed it and installed a NOVA filter instead.

3) Water in Fenney, etc, is a BIT harder than the northern part of The Villages.....I do not find it objectionable.

4) If you do not like Chlorine taste, etc, you want a Filter.....a softener only softens.

5) To the post that focused on the 25 year old house with copper water lines.....yes, older Florida homes were built with copper pipes embedded in concrete. Builders have learned that it was not a good idea, just like cast iron waste pipes in concrete or below is also bad. Once copper starts leaking it will continue to develop more leaks. You are better off re-plumbing the entire home. Having a water softener will SLOW the amount of failure, but not eliminate it. You will still need to re-plumb.

6) All homes built in at least the last ten years or so in The Villages have CPVC water lines.....not copper.

Hope this helps.

Frank D.

Frank, regarding your item 5, are you really saying that a water softener is any kind of a solution for copper water pipe leaks?

Great question.....in a word...No. I have been told by various Plumbers, etc, that if a Florida house has copper pipes that have not yet started to leak, softer water tends to slow down the corrosion process. It does not stop it. I was just told last week that a Plumber was telling us a story that a homeowner that had copper pipes that has not had a leak "suddenly" started to have a few leaks. Upon further investigation the homeowner stated that their water softener stopped working 6 months prior and they did not get around to fixing it.

That being said, if I had an older home in Florida with copper pipes I would much rather put my money into pipe replacement than a water softener. Re-plumbing the home solves the problem for good, while a softener will at best retard the corrosion process.

There are many variables, such as the hardness of the water, whether it was L-Hard or M-hard Copper, etc,etc.

A friend of mine was doing extensive remodeling on his 1960's Florida home....we was just ready to install all new tile when he found he had bad pipes under the slab. He had to jackhammer parts of the slab to replace some old cast iron pipes. While an added expense and a pain, it would have been much worse if he found out after he laid all the new tile.

I would like to add that for most of The Villages this is a non-issue.

Hope that helps!

Frank

What is it about Florida water and copper pipes that make them corrode?

Back in MA we had all copper pipes and fittings... house was built in the 50's. The only piping problem we knew of up there was bronze fittings tended to leak but not copper ones.

Nova Filtration (an advertiser here) who has a reputation for great all house water filter systems says the following about putting a water softener into a home in The Villages. Remember, they also sell water softeners so they seem pretty honest.

"The water in TV is not very hard on scale of 15 it is approx. 8.6, very hard water is generally a level of 11 or more.

In our opinion a softener is not required but a option that can be added later to our Whole House Triple system."

Up north your copper pipes were in basements and in interior walls. When they are encased in a concrete slab the concrete helps corrode them.

Even up north eventually copper can eventually leak, especially around fittings if the flux was never wiped off. And if the copper did leak, repairs were accessable and easy. You cannot do this cheaply or easily when you need a jackhammer first.

Up north, then copper did go through concrete, you always properly sleeve it first.

Frank

Thanks Frank

We are going to look into both a softener and a filter. Our thought would be to buy from Home Depot or the like if we go with either. Our friend installed a system for about $400 to avoid the thousands that various companies charge. If we decide we need something it will probably be after a time of using the water as is for a while.

Do what you want but you should consider Nova's system for water filtration, about 600 (I think) installed

Water varies in parts of TV. Don't know why. Seven years ago we bought in The Village of Charlotte. My wife complained about water stains on dishes. We have moved about 1 mile away on Belle Glade CC and we do not notice the same issue. Only filter we use is the one on the refer.

We had Isherwood Plumbing (ad on TOTV) 8 years ago because we couldn't get shampoo to lather and dishwasher not cleaning. He installed a small filter at water line in garage and we get the filters at Home Depot. Amazing difference for a small investment and it's disgusting what is in that filter when we change it. Just sayin.

$575 in todays paper

If we were to opt for a water system it would be Nova. I have only heard positive reviews.

Nova. 600 bucks. The best investment ever. Love my water..

Sent from my SM-N920R4 using Tapatalk

:bigbow:

These WHF discussions are pretty fruitless. Those who swear by it will tell you that, and those who don't have one will tell you it's not needed. Not only is it all opinion, the water in this vast area differs from place to place.

It's a very personal choice based on very personal circumstances. If you don't like the taste of the water, or if it's leaving water spots or making your skin dry and itchy, then that should guide your decision. If you don't have a problem with any of that, don't buy one!

I looked into the Nova system today and reached out to them. Looks like we will have them install the filter system and see down the road if anything else is needed. Looks like a nice system and easy to use.

I hate it when you talk "common sense":a040:

My softener/filter system was in bypass the other day when I was washing a pot in the sink. I got smacked in the face with the awful chlorine smell. I guess you can can get use to the stink and grime but I don't want to.

When they first moved here, my sister and BIL were told by phone salesmen The Villages water was going to kill them if they didn't purchase a whole house filter. That may be a slight exaggeration but it scared them enough to invest in a whole house filter right away.

Hubby and I have no interest in any type of whole house filter. The water filter on our fridge is much easier to change out and maintain and it does a wonderful job of giving us delicious tasting water.

I honestly don't think anyone will be harmed by drinking unfiltered Villages water.

Just want to add that TV water is perfectly safe...It is actually better than national average.

Beware of the maggots that try to sell you a $400 water softener for $3000 when you first move in.
Just go to HomeDepot and get the GE softener/filter machine for $800 and get a plumber to install it.

Lived in Village of Charlotte for four years and used a softner we bought at Lowes. Worked well and we needed it. Wife complained about stains on dishes. Moved to Village of N La Belle 3 years ago and do not need one. Don't know why but depends on where you live and what water conditions are.

I work for the utility dept., water. You don't need a water softener here. We all have plastic pipes here in the Villages, they won't clog unless you flush wipes.

we live in fenney. The water comes from the city of Wildwood that has a history of lawsuits for adding fees to pay for police force in addition to water. The City won an award for its water quality but. the water is brown. They claim its the new construction. the toilets had lime rings and black rings. The dishwasher smells poorly. There is no water pressure. The water tasted clammy. I installed a whole house filter with sediment and carbon filter and change them every three months. The clammy taste is gone. The sediment filter turns brown and traps large globus like particles. seems to help but still have the lime rings. the water ph tested alkaline. thinking of a reverse osmosis filter but waiting for the Villages to take over the system. Hope this helps.

We agree softeners are not required, they are an add-on option, the water in Fenney is a bit harder than the main part of TV and we have installed more there.

Cost is another consideration as well, ours is $899 but we don't charge thousands like others.

Softeners only perform one function removing calcium & magnesium.
They do not filter out sediment, chlorine, taste, odor and other impurities.

If you do opt to add softener using potassium chloride rather than plain salt has more benefits for a number of reasons.

A metered softener uses less water than the timed system because they regen only after a set number of gallons are used instead of a set day of the week regardless of how much water is used.


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Concerning the post regarding a pinhole in a copper pipe. Hard water does not cause pinholes. I lived in PA and there were pinhole problems in the neighborhood but they were caused by acidic water, which was very soft.

Water Softener & Whole house filter
 

Moved here late December '18. Pre-owned home had the Nova filter system. I had Nova add a softner. Very satisfied with Nova highly recommend. Did I need a water softener (potassium chloride)? No. The filter system took all the sediment and chlorine out. But the softener did improve the taste, eliminate hard water spots, and a great feeling in the shower. For me well worth the cost. Search on ToV indicates good reviews for Nova.

Years ago in Cincinnati, there was a huge rumor believed by many that copper pipes had pinholes because of large power lines nearby.

Television stations all covered it and interviewed people near power lines with pinhole leaks in their copper pipes.. They didn't interview people far away from power lines with pinhole leaks in their copper pipes.

Got people all het up.

We’ve had our Nova filter system about 14 months, 10 months of full time use. We decided to have the filters changed even though we had not reached the recommended water usage. The filters were totally gross! I sure would hate to think I was putting that gunk in and on my body.

we bought a softner, that had a lifetime warranty. The distributor called a year later to arrange for a yearly inspection, which was pricey. When I told them no, they said it would void my warrenty. Not only did we spend thousands, but the cost just kept pilling up. We also found that the water was so pure that the toilet bowels got moldy if not used over time.