Water
 

My dishwasher leaves a cloudy coating on my Oneida silverware. Also, water doesn't taste good! Many neighbors are putting in costly water sofener with a filter. Is the softener necessary? Maybe just a filter?

We have a water softener we rent from Culligan for $32 a month, no contract. You could try it to see if it makes a difference. Also try the little blue bottle of jet dry. There is a place to put the liquid stuff in the door of your dishwasher. I can always tell when I am out of the stuff as my dishes and glasses and silverware become cloudy.

P.S. The water softener helps with my hair too.

Go to one of the big box stores such as Lowes or Home Depot and buy a "hybrid water softener". This is a water softener with an included carbon filter. The water softener part of this appliance will remove the calcium and magnesium that gives the water it's hardness and the carbon filter will remove the chlorine that gives the water it's bad taste. Hire a local plumber such as Mike Scott to install it. You should be able to do the whole thing for perhaps $1000.

Track down NOVA Water filtration on this site and read the reviews. Bob installed ours right after we moved in, 3 filters, 20 and 10 mic. Particle filters and a 5 mic. Carbon filter. Cost installed around $500 and replacement filters under $100/year. His phone number is 631-388-1048 and he lives in TV.

Had a Culligan softener for a number of years. Water was soft, though water here in the community isn't hard, but it tasted terrible unless you used the filtered fridge water. When the resin tank in the softener went belly up and resin particles were showing up in the water imparting an even worse taste, we switched to the Nova system. Water right out of the faucet tastes great, haven't seen any residue on dishes or silverware, and no problems with lack of suds in washing...people, clothes, dishes...;)

If you don't like the hardness of the water (and the water here is pretty hard at about 12 grains per gallon at my house) you need a water softener. Filters will not address water hardness.

We put in a Sears water softener and a Sears whole house filter, the hybrid unit came out a month later. Our water is so good that we no longer but bottled water, and we no longer use Jet dry in the dish washer, and the crystal comes out as clean an shiny as the glasses that have never be used.

You probably shouldn't be drinking the water out of your dishwasher.

Uh-oh ...

Should understand water softeners vs. water filters.

There are water filters you can purchase for $500 or up to $2,000.

Nova, Pelican, deliver cleaner, better tasting water.

You usually get what you pay for.

Why not. tastes perfectly okay to me:wave:

I found that using Cascade dish washer soap gave me a cloudy film. Switched to Finish and it went away.

Different detergents can work differently based on water chemistry. Try switching to a different brand for a box or two. Much cheaper than a water softener.

Thanks for your feedback,

see myths about water softeners link below.

The water here is not that hard, softeners are not needed necessarily, I offer them but in two years of installing the Nova system no one has asked for one to be added.

The carbon that some offer with their softeners are really not effective, I've seen them side by side, there really and truly is no comparison.

See what type of carbon they use......guess what it doesn't say anything on the canisters just like the fridge filters no spec's what so ever no mention of the type of carbon, no mention if a lose pack (shake it can you hear it moving around?)

My filter uses coconut shell carbon, second only to scientific grade, it is then compressed in to bloc, kinda like a brick.

You may ask why, it because water will take the path of least resistance, it will find or make channels thru lessor quality units, therefore, you will not get 99.9% filtered water more like 80-85%.

Also their micron ratings are 10-20 microns, mine is 5 Micron, clearly stated on the cartridge.

those two factors make a huge difference.

I've been in water filtration biz (since 1974) with aquariums and very delicate aquaria and corals, either of which will not survive or thrive without superior water quality.

I use a triple container system each filter is 4.5" X 20", look at the size of others. usually 4x10 or 2.5x10,

I also add a input street supply pressure gaugehttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_SS100_.jpg and a post filter gaugehttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_SS100_.jpg that way you can tell if the filters need replacement before the standard 12-15 month time table.

Lastly softeners can add salt in your water which if you have BP issues can't be beneficial, there is sufficient data indicating they promote kidney stones.

But if you still want one I can install one............but suggest not to.

Thanks for reading

Bob
A village resident

Everyone should do their own research regarding water softeners. In the interest of setting the record straight, the amount of sodium (not salt) added to the water during the ion exchange process is in the range of about 24 mgs per cup of water. This is a really small amount. If you eat processed food, this amount of sodium may be negligible. If for some reason you don't want even this small amount (for example, you are trying to reduce your sodium intake as much as possible) you can use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride in your softener. Potassium chloride cost more than sodium chloride but modern water softeners are very efficient and it will cost about $2/month for sodium chloride and $7/month for potassium chloride assuming the typical amount of water that 2 people would use per month in The Villages. The water in The Villages is pretty hard and many people prefer soft water. The removal of chlorine is also a personal choice. I personally like soft, chlorine free water.

I have a water softener that I an NOT using if anyone is interested. I'll make you a good deal.