Newbie Question - Water Filtration System
 

Hi —
Down to just a little two more weeks to closing and moving to TV! I understand water isn’t so good in Florida, and that many have some sort of filtration system. This is something I know nothing about. What is it? Where is it situated? What type of maintenance/upkeep would be required of me? This is something I would like to get the ball rolling with now - any referrals? Anything else I should know about the drinking water in TV? Thanks as usual for your helpful replies and suggestions. 😀

Lots of threads on this topic.

Lots have Nova..............I don't.

I (and others) use Pelican.
A bit more pricey than Nova, but you know what they say........getting what you pay for.

Lots of people have no filtration.

We have NOVA and are 100 per cent satisfied our water is great.

I have several customers who said Pelican went out of biz in this area? They can’t get anyone on the phone? Are they still in biz at least in this area?

Wilson can you still get service or you do it yourself??

������������..,,,,10,000 plus customers in the Villages

www.novafiters.com

Nova systems. Water filter and water softener. Filter contains 3 large separate filters (2 for sediment and 1 for organics/chlorine which is activated carbon). They probably should be changed once a year if you are full time or home is occupied year round (rented). You will need to add salt every couple of months. You can use sodium chloride or potassium chloride. Sodium is about $8-9 a bag and potassium is about $35 a bag. This is used to regenerate the softener and the flush water usually is piped through the garage wall. Then it runs either into a landscaped area or the yard. Sodium can & will kill grass and plants. Potassium will not harm plants. In fact it is a component of fertilizer.

Check out their website: Nova Filters | Water Softeners | The Villages Fl

And when you get it installed, remove the filter in your refrigerator. It is no longer needed but will grow bacteria over time if left in place. When you remove the filter, you may need a bypass plug - depends on the refrigerator.

We have Nova Water Filtation and love it! The drinking water tastes great and we drink a lot of it. Also I have long hair and was having a hard time getting it rinsed in the shower -The filtration helped. Also thinking about getting a softener. Welcome to The Villages 😁

Water System https://pegasuswaterllc.com/
 

When we came here, we shopped around and chose Pegasus water systems as we wanted to be able to drink the water right out of the tap, and we do snd it’s quite the miracle (for the past 3 years) it just depends what you are looking for but call Adam at Pegasus as he’s super knowledgeable and a good guy! Good luck and welcome 🙏

I would suggest that you live in the house for awhile before investing in a water filter and/or softener system. A lot of people, including me, are satisfied with the water without any treatment. There is no need to rush into buying something. The system is installed in the garage, and it can be purchased at any time.

Why don’t you move in and see what YOU think of the water. I drink from the filtered fridge spout and think it’s just fine.

Michael. My hometown is Lodi CA. Been in The Villages FL since 2015. Water in The Villages the same as Lodi water from my experience.

You don’t need any system, Florida water is fine.

We recently put in a Nova system and what a difference. It’s installed in our garage and takes up a small amount of area near where the main water turn off is. We no longer buy water filters ($$$) and water tastes great. Filters get changed approximately once per year.

Novice
 

I don't know much about water systems except they do work. I would replace the water filter on my refrigerator twice a year and if I procrastinated the flow of the water would slow down to a trickle. I had a water filter installed in my garage and haven't change the filter in the frig in over two years. novice

Bought a filter/softener from sears. With instal was $1100. They gave 5 year Warrenty and annual Maintenace. All I need to do is dump 1 bag of salt in every 2 months. Very happy with the Maintenace end and the water is softer and better taste then without. Cheaper than Nova or Pelican but some will complain you have to put the salt in. It takes about 5 minutes to do.

Stay away from Frank Gay.

I was living here for a few months and make lots of iced tea. There was a ton of scum (or particles that are being cooked in the making of the tea) in the tea pitcher. Added a Nova system and tea pitcher is clean. Nova adds 3 filters in the garage next to the main shutoff which they change 1x a year. They have been great from the day they installed to the annual filter changes.

Thanks for the post… it reminded me of the time to change my filters…

We have been here 10 years no total house filter,water is fine drinking and bathing , some feel the need for a filter most do not.

The water is a little, not excessively, hard. If you chose a cartridge filter, not much difference in the companies. If you go for a water softener, than do your research. For us, a cartridge system was sufficient.

We have the Nova system, and are completely satisfied. Our tap water when untreated had a heavy chlorine taste/smell. The filtration system took care of that. If you're moderately handy, you can do the annual filter change yourself. I replaced mine at 26,000 gallons, which was right at one year of use. The used sediment filters were a disgusting brown in color, compared to the bright white new ones. Keep in mind, your fridge filter will take care of your drinking water, but you still bathe, wash clothes, and cook in that stuff. If you will be living south of SR44, you will want a whole-house filter system.

Wait until you get here as you may not need it - we needed it in one home - moved 6 minute cart ride away and do not need a filter system!

Best Quality & Value Water Softener
 

After we moved to TV, we shopped for a water softener/purification system that offered the best value, including purchase price and long term costs to operate and maintain the system over the years. We purchased our system from Jeff Ursu who may be reached at 352-653-7708 whose system had the lowest purchase price and lowest cost to maintain. He installed a new system in our garage that has provided great water for the past 2 years. Except for adding salt once (Very easy to do yourself, but Jeff will deliver the salt and do it for you if you desire), the system has been completely maintenance free - 100% reliable.

Our drinking water, out of the fridge, tasted good before and after installing a Pelican system, which we are very happy with. We chose that system to make it easier to prevent/remove the limestone coating everything without having to add bags of sodium/potassium every month or so.

The refrigerator filter is fine. I don’t have any problems with tap water either. South if 44. Units go on the golf cart side of garage from what I noticed. Make a decision after a few months.

Water softener system and carbon filter. Softener will extend the life of your hot water tank, dishwasher, and clothes washer. Carbon filter takes all the unneeded chemicals from your drinking water. Both are worth the investment.

The water is safe to drink, but it's very hard water. The person in your home doing daily cleaning around the faucets, etc will notice a residue or scale wherever water puddles, a ring around the toilet bowl no matter how clean, etc. which is hard to remove. Periodically, I use a de-scaler. I am considering a water conditioner, but it's hard to decide just what to get. Lots of confusing and contradicting info. If you don't mind the slimy feeling when rinsing off in the shower, then a water softener might do.

This is your personal opinion and thats fine but these larger companies with long histories and quality products can be very over priced and some sales people will sell you equipment you don't need.

Nova might be a local company but they know the Villages water, homes and what is actually needed for a reasonable price. The owner actually lives here with us in the Villages. There have been some published issues but many have to do with other factors such as a faulty unmaintained expansion tanks for example.

Nova being a local smaller company gives you great service. If there is ever an emergency they come right over day or night. They are highly recommended.

The problem with the water in the Villages is it has a fairly high chlorine level so you will smell and taste this right away. That said i would recommend getting the Nova whole house filter to filter the chlorine and sediment from your water and after living in the house for a while, if you feel the water is too hard you can then add a Nova water softener. Hope this helps.

Sorry to disagree, but my research indicated the Nova filtraron system is far superior to Pelican. The sizes of the Pelican cartridge pales in comparison to the three stage Nova filter
cartridges
Pelican repetitively sent salesman to my home and attempted to extort over $3500 for their system on the first call eventually offering the same for $1200 after several no answers
Nova, has one published price, ethical practices, forthright customer service and a superior product at a much lower price
I enjoy your posts and usually agree with you, you need to checkout Nova again

We don’t have a filter system, so far it’s been fine. Try it for a while.

Actually our water here in the Villages is moderately hard. I believe it's a 12 level but never the less, I had the same issues when trying to figure out if i needed a water softener and which one to get. I decided on the Nova softener because it was about half the price, installed, than most of the other's on the market and lasts just as long. For about $1,200 i had mine installed after previously having the Nova whole house filter installed when i moved in. The result, no more chlorine smell and taste, my water heater doesn't have sediment build up any longer so no need to drain it once a year or if i do all i have to do is let out a little water and done, and no more cleaning out the faucet aerators thanks to the filter. The softener enabled us to use less soap, no more crud buildup on the faucets and shower and the clothes are cleaner. Also don't have to worry about mineral build up shortening the life of my water heater and other appliances any more. This is just information to help you better decide what you may want to do.

The water is just hard here. I couldn't taste or smell any difference but many people can. We had the Nova system installed; it was designed by a resident of TV.

Have your water tested first.Not the cheap ones from home depot. This will determine the contamination in your water. Then you can determine the filters needed. Reverse osmosis/distilled will be a good start for drinking. Remember to add minerals back in. Remember corporations protect corporations. Do your own research. Your skin is a sponge/organ, it will absorb all containments from your water in the shower.

I have a Nuovo citrus filter, along with a paper and a charcoal filter. I change the paper and charcoal filter every six months and it costs about $15 and takes me about 5 minutes. The citrus filter gets changed once a year and costs me $100. And that takes no more than 5 minutes.
The result is .... no lime scale or mineral rings. No chlorine taste.
The system is inexpensive, no maintenance, requires no electricity, and no salt.
I am satisfied with this system.

We don't have a filtration. We use the fridge water filter and the water tastes great (we do drink a lot of water). My suggestion is try the water thru the fridge first and if you don't like it maybe you can try a neighbor who has the filtration system to compare.

So, if you drink eight, 8 ounce glasses of water every day, that is about 15 gallons per month. Last month I used about 1,200 gallons of potable water. Why would I want to filter 1,200 gallons, if I am only going to drink 15 gallons?

You might think so, but how do you know for sure? Have you ever had your water tested? Just because you aren't getting sick doesn't necessarily mean the water doesn't have components that can have long-term consequences. Cancer doesn't develop overnight, generally; it takes years of exposure to carcinogenic chemicals.

I am another satisfied Nova customer. Water softener, whole house filters and reverse osmosis dispenser at the kitchen sink. Best tasting water I've ever had. Great service too. Here's a photo of the three filters after eight months. New ones are white. Highly recommend this system. https://i.postimg.cc/fykHRw8j/IMG-2416.jpg

You really should remove the refrigerator filter. It will grow bacteria over time and yes, it will leach out into your drinking water from the refrigerator because it will grow through the filter's filtration material. Some water dispensers in refrigerators will work without the filter and some require a bypass plug to be installed.

Well, you need the filter if you are getting a softener. The resin bed used in ANY softener will become damaged and less efficient with all of the sediment found in our water. Chlorine also damages the resin bed.

wait till you get here and test for yourself before your sold a bill of goods, we live in the North East side of the villages and the water is fine .. tastes normal and i have been in Fl 30 yrs .. living on the gulf coast now the Villages... decide for your own self