The Villages Drinking Water?
 

We are new on the Historic side, and wonder if the water is good to drink or must we purify or drink bottled water? We would appreciate your thoughts.LB

We are spoiled well water people from up north and we do not care for the water here. We purchase 5 gallon jugs of water from the grocery store for coffee and the dog. (also ice cubes)

We're from Milwaukee WI (Lake Michigan water).
Personally can't tell the difference other than the temperature.

If we cool the water here it's as good as MKE.

If you have a new telephone listing you would of already gotten at least a dozen calls from people trying to sell you water purification systems. In fact I even got two more this week and we've been here since July.

There are plenty of people willing to tell you how terrible the water is. My favorite is when they say they are calling from Home Depot with a 'Welcome Kit' which includes a $25 gift certificate which they would love to present to me in person. Of course, while visiting they would gladly perform a water evaluation test free of charge. My neighbor fell for one of the calls and now has a $3100 system in his garage which puts out a little stream of water from a special tap on the side of his sink.

You should do a search on this site about drinking water, this topic comes up every month. Personally I don't mind the water for showers, coffee or cooking but we drink bottled water when thirsty.

Water is our area is tested annually and a written report sent to all homowners. Not sure when the next test will be. Bottom line - the water is safe - very safe. Yes, it has a high mineral content, as does almost all Florida water. Yes, it has a high sulfer content, as does a lot of Florida water. You may not like that. You may feel that a good use of your hard earned retirement money is a water purification or water softner system for you home. Go for it, if that is what you want. Just do not be "scared" into an expensive purchase of some water purification system because some scam artist "tested" your water and showed you a bunch of "sludge" in a test tube following the test. Our water is SAFE - maybe not exactly to your liking but perfectly safe. As an aside, should you decide to get a water purification system for your home, get several estimates. You wil be amazed and astounded at the variation in prices.

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I will search previous posts, but have decided that we will just drink it. Probably better than bottled water. Best regards LB

The filtration in the refrigerator works for me for drinking water.

The main problem I have with the water is the chlorine taste. The GE refrigerator we had before removed this. The Whirlpool we have now doesn't. I'm thinking we need a different filter on it. Has anyone run into this?

Drinking water
 

We tried Culligan for a while, but the whole house filter was
needing changed every 30-40 days at $45.00 each. I took the system out, went to Lowes and got a Whirlpool ($337.00 but cheaper now) wholehouse filter and installed it. Took about an hour to put it in. It cleans and flushes itself every 14 days. It works great, and we don't need a softner. Have had it for over 3 years. Can't tell the difference of bottled water.

My question is where does it put the backflush waste water? I see no drain being installed in my new homes garage.

Lol
 

The water is filtered and treated and tested! This IS America! I think that the Public Utility that delivers water to our community of 80,000 is confident you can drink it!!! We too are from New England and had a well. That well had metals in it radon and sediment. The water you should have been concerned about is "up north".:a20:

We used the filtered water from the refrigerator and also have a Brita pitcher.

Have cut back on using case after case of bottled water by using these two methods and notice no difference.

When cooking we use the water straight from the tap.

the keithfan comment above puts the period at the end of the sentence.

Any and everything else is only a preference.

I don't use/waste my discriminating capability on things that in the end have no real significance....that's me!

btk

Herv, I've seen drain lines for water softeners in TV going out through the block foundation or garage sidewall to the driveway or into the landscaping. Maybe check with your water softener installer (if you're hiring the job out) to see what their suggestions would be. Perhaps you can finagle a way to get an adequate drain pipe of some sort laid under the sod and any sidewalk that will lead out towards the street.

There's really no perfect solution unless you can get TV to install a floor drain in your garage close to where the softener will be located. Unfortunately, it's probably too late for that if the foundation work and slab are already completed.

Bill :)

The water we had in our CYV on three visits turned my wifes hair orange and my skin dried out like an alligator. The white scale on the shower head and chrome shower doors was not very attractive. Ahhh when you can't get dawn to suds something is wrong.

I have heard that all over the villages the water is different. It is safe to drink absolutely, However if you enjoy swallowing half a glass of bleach go for it. They have to kill those cooties from those underground wells somehow!

IMHO I will have our home water tested by a independant lab and treated for deposits and chlorine. Just had our Public safe City water here in Cortland tested. 500 grains hard and enough Chlorine to kill a cow!

To Late
 

There's really no perfect solution unless you can get TV to install a floor drain in your garage close to where the softener will be located. Unfortunately, it's probably too late for that if the foundation work and slab are already completed.

Bill :)[/QUOTE]

I like the idea of sending it out to water the lawn.

Well, not to late. Just very expensive.

I like the idea of sending it out to water the lawn.[/QUOTE]

Caution: The backflush water from a water softner is full of salt.

I live in Buttonwood and I found the water to be terrible. I purchased a water softner (and yes you can talk them down on the price). (They wanted 2,500 and I offered 1,600 and they took it!) The draw back is that I have to add salt every month or so. The company wanted to sell me their expensive salt but I found it much cheaper @ Sam's Club. Hope this helps.

Tks
 

Caution: The backflush water from a water softner is full of salt.[/QUOTE]

OPPS that would not be good for plants!. I have a garage sink being installed will see about having it discharge to that drain.

Thanks

drinking water
 

I used the drain that Culligan had put in. It is a small line and could be tun under the corner of the garage door.
there isn't any salt so don't have to worry about plants. Some plants need salt tho.

Alternative
 

Anyone use Osmosis or a Alternative to Salt? With good results. Doc want me off salt.

Does anyone know where the water to our Duval homes
 

originates from. I really would like to look at the inspection and treatment
facilities report. Our water has a terrible odor, even with a Pur filter, and
it tastes like a combination of chlorine and brackish water. My dogs won't
drink it!!! Buying bottled water is getting expensive. When here for the
Lifestyle Preview, the water at the hotel in LSL was fine.

the backwash goes tru the wall and out to the street. You can buy a good water system from Home Depot for around 500 dollars , why these people pay a large sum of money is kind of crazy. They do not do any homework at all
drd

Water
 

We live in Santiago and use a Pur filter on the kitchen tap and an inline filter on the icemaker supply.That seems to take away taste problems.As far as scale problems on the shower heads in 11 years I have only had to soak the heads in vinegar one time.

......We are South of CR 466 and East of Morse......
......Was told North Sumter Utilities is the water provider here.....

....almost every weekend....from about FRIDAY 3pm-ish till SATURDAY NIGHT the water smells very scary... like a combination of some sort of harsh chemicals MIXED with CHLORINE..........SO...sure don't drink the water anymore.......we have no softener or any other device that could have caused the chemicals to enter the water supply. Longing for the good old DEEP WELL water we had up in the north.....

after 4 years we decided on a purification/water softener and paid last week with installation $ 2200.00

it clearly dumped out the chlorine from the water along with the smell.

The salesman was trying to be slick with the payment options of stating once out the door the price goes up. BS.

In addition our home/courtyard villa never had a water shutoff in side the house. Why who knows, not even TV can answer for it as no house in our community has it. We have to go outside to the main box in the ground to shutoff.

Wow $2200, whats the name of the company???

Mr. Fixit...that is me, too
 

I am not sure after trying to read water reports that our water in our area is
actually a public utility...it seems to be privately held by the Morse family, I could be wrong and have been, but I couldn't find any reports from it on the internet. Am wondering what would happen if, IF, I had the water tested and it turned out not to be healthy...would I be responsible for making it so.
Seriously, it is awful at my house. Company comig shortly and I am mortified to offer a glass of water unless I buy bottled. Come out of the shower smelling like a three day old egg. It's giving new meaning to the term,
toilet water! At least I'm not alone.

...The reports are published...YUP... North Sumter has some "stuff" in the water....just like all water suppliers in Fl.

...My take on it.....The capacity of "the stink removal" is possibly less than could be desired for the volume of water used "on-the-weekends". (because of influx of friends,family and part-timers).

...Perhaps additional treatment "products" are added to speed-up "the stink removal". We see the "stink" tanks in ALL the yards where people draw their own "private" well water. By experience, (before moving to Villages) learned to have TWO "stink tanks" at our other place in Fl.

What does this mean "in ALL the yards"? Where are there private wells in TV???

You should be good to go for running the water softener drain to the sink. Check local plumbing codes - will need to have an "air gap" (can check that out via Google) for that drain line.

Bill :)

The water here tastes awful! I found a site that rates water quality from 0-10 and the water here was rated at 2.something. We recently put in a water softener that also is a whole house water FILTER! All problems solved. The water tastes great, no white residue, no orange crud in the shower, my hair is soft again! It is from Sears...and it is wonderful!

I've lived here for 2 1/2 years and find there's not much wrong with the water. Just like up north I use a filtered pitcher to make coffee and to have a cold glass of water. The water is fine for bathing and cleaning and it's not the worst tasting water I've had out of a tap. Everywhere I've been the water has tasted a little different.

Unless everyone else is getting an inferior water to mine, I don't get it. I just figure these people trying to sell me a whole house system have a good scam going here.

It seems to vary from Village to Village. We lived in Ashland, and I found the water to be not very good. We have friends in Lynnehaven that have awful water. They don't have a filter, and it just tastes like medicine coming out of the tap. Our water here in Mallory is fine - no weird tastes or odors. I use the refrigerator door filtered water for coffee and drinking water, and right out of the tap for cooking. I guess it must be another thing to think of when purchasing a home - make sure you check out the drinking water, lol!

........That is an excellent descriptive narrative......

........IF the water fits that "rotten egg" description in the "heated" water.........perhaps could be caused by the...... magnesium or aluminum sacrificial anode IN your HOT water heater.

.....go here for details http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/

.....Then..... click on "Smelly,Stinky,Rotten-EggHot Water" left side column-- 5th bullet down........Good Luck......

Denis G
We are interested in the Whirlpool filter you installed.
I understand it requires to be connected up to a drain,
where in the house did you hook it up and how did you do this.
Thank you:wave:

Dang MrFixIt, wish you lived next door!
 

I'll ask a handy neighbor to help me with this, but the whole issue is so
smelly I don't know if the peroxide will help or not. Will give it a try. My doglets used to be so shiny and soft after a bath outside with the hose, now they look like a bad hair day. Poor us.

Same as Taj - I have no trouble with the drinking water from the filter in the refrigerator. But I don't know about other areas (we're in Buttonwood).

try this for your shower. works great and anyone can install.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Sprite-Showers-HOB-CM-Output-Shower/dp/B000FZ2O8G/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1321804880&sr=1-1-catcorr[/ame]