Talk of The Villages Florida
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Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)
-   The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)
-   -   Any horror stories for NOT having a water softener? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/any-horror-stories-not-having-water-softener-282376/)

jimbo2012 01-21-2019 08:17 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertcraigpoe (Post 1617889)
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.
A lifetime warranty with required paid inspections?
Is that legal?

There isn't that much to inspect on a softener, the electronics work or they don't.

Our softeners have a 5 year warranty (no costs)

Kirkinfl 01-21-2019 08:26 AM
I believe in water softeners and have had one in the last 3 homes I have owned. I also have a reverse osmosis filter under the kitchen sink for making coffee
And drinking. The reverse osmosis removes everything from the water and the water is great for coffee. The water softener removes the hardness from the water and I like the benefits of soft water.
Neither the water softener or the reverse osmosis system are a necessity, water in the Villages is good, about half the hardness of Clearwater where I lived for many years. Just ignore the water testing letter you get in the mail, that’s just a scam!

Kirkinfl 01-21-2019 08:35 AM
I have filtered water in the kitchen and a softener for the whole house. I installed both myself, if I would have had to hire someone to install these I would not have either!

jammaiora 01-21-2019 08:36 AM
Take a look in your toilet water tanks. If all the parts are clear, clean and look new then you probably don't need a softener. I have lived here since '05. My first house was seasonal and I didn't put a softener in it. My current house was built in '09, for full-time living and I installed a softener. Love the softener. I bought a year old villa for rental and the toilet tanks had lots of "rust" color, maybe iron, on all the parts. Renters complained of chemical smells. I installed a softener and no problems now. I also had a whole house carbon filter installed at both places. Cost in '09 was $1300 for softener and carbon filter. Cost for villa softener and filter in '018 $2000. I think they are worth it.

swingwing 01-21-2019 09:07 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Back9 (Post 1616301)
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
No they are not a necessity but they sure make life better. The benefits quoted in the other post are valid but left out one important one: the improved life and operation of your hot water tank. The more you research what still remains in any city water supply should convince you of their worth to your health and the health of your home, appliances, pipes, etc. My home in The Villages is my 19th. I've had experience with many different brands of water softeners over the years and am convinced there is only one brand worth investing your money: Kinetico. They are more expensive up front but will save you money in the long run versus all other brands. If you move you can have the Kinetico dealers move it to your new home. But if the buyer of your home is smart they will insist the Kinetico stays with the house. I do not work for Kinetico nor am I an investor in the company. Do a little research and you will see why they are the best I have ever owned.

lindaelane 01-21-2019 09:23 AM
Water Taste and Plastic
 
Please consider Zero Water instead of buying bottled water. So much cheaper! It tastes great!

Worrying about plastic is not the same as worrying about global warming. Global warming is politically controversial. There is no political controversy in addressing what plastic is doing to the oceans and to life in them. Its horrible. Plastic does not fully biodegrade. It becomes small particles that cannot degrade further. They hurt the ocean. They even hurt seafood we consume which hurts us. All for the sake of using what are usually completely unnecessary plastic bottles and bags.

You will also eventually save money and help the environment. if you use cloth bags so supermarkets do not have to buy all that plastic (that is used for a five minute drive home then discarded).

KsBob 01-21-2019 09:54 AM
Wait and see option
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Back9 (Post 1616301)
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
Had a similar debate when we first moved here - saw posts both ways. Decided to wait and see. After about four months and noticing dishes not getting clean; calcium build-up, etc. - we decided to get a system. Water always tasted good, just finally observed that anywhere the water touched, the surface began getting a cloudy appearance.

jimbo2012 01-21-2019 10:40 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindaelane (Post 1617942)
Please consider Zero Water instead of buying bottled water. So much cheaper! It tastes great!
Can't take shower with it, your skin absorbs a lot of chlorine and other contaminants.

toeser 01-21-2019 11:10 AM
Not needed, but a filter helps
 
I am a snowbird. The water in the Villages is much softer than in my northern local where I absolutely need a softener. But the water here is not overly clean. I would strongly recommend going with a whole-house water filtration system. There are a couple of systems sold by plumbers in the area that go for $400-600 installed. Your water will taste better and your clothes will be cleaner. Plus, these systems take up a fraction of the space needed for a softener.

mikeritz53 01-21-2019 11:25 AM
I do know that without it the Newer DW Sensors can clog and it is $3-$400 to replace. Happened to me and I ended up just getting a New one, but learned a lesson.

CFrance 01-21-2019 11:35 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeritz53 (Post 1618023)
I do know that without it the Newer DW Sensors can clog and it is $3-$400 to replace. Happened to me and I ended up just getting a New one, but learned a lesson.
What is a DW sensor?

stadtmkw 01-21-2019 11:56 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garywt (Post 1616666)
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.
We were running both a whole-house softener and filter. Had to remove the filter because it took the chlorine out and that resulted in high bacteria counts at the sinks and refrigerator dispenser. Both aerobic and coliform bacteria were present. Went nuts tracing this down. Flushed entire system with bleach twice. Even went so far as to confirm that when the house was built, they did not plumb the irrigation water to the fridge. Not sure of the source of the bacteria as the raw incoming water tested fine for bacteria. Only solution found was to remove the Whirlpool whole-house filter, install a UV filter and allow chlorine to pass through system. Put the fridge filter back in service to handle drinking water.

Back9 01-21-2019 12:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Villagesgal (Post 1617856)
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.
Thank you!

(That "nails it", as they say.)

retiredguy123 01-21-2019 12:19 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by stadtmkw (Post 1618039)
We were running both a whole-house softener and filter. Had to remove the filter because it took the chlorine out and that resulted in high bacteria counts at the sinks and refrigerator dispenser. Both aerobic and coliform bacteria were present. Went nuts tracing this down. Flushed entire system with bleach twice. Even went so far as to confirm that when the house was built, they did not plumb the irrigation water to the fridge. Not sure of the source of the bacteria as the raw incoming water tested fine for bacteria. Only solution found was to remove the Whirlpool whole-house filter, install a UV filter and allow chlorine to pass through system. Put the fridge filter back in service to handle drinking water.
I'll bet the water treatment salespeople will love this post.

jimbo2012 01-21-2019 12:52 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by stadtmkw (Post 1618039)
We were running both a whole-house softener and filter. Had to remove the filter because it took the chlorine out and that resulted in high bacteria counts at the sinks and refrigerator dispenser. Both aerobic and coliform bacteria were present. Went nuts tracing this down. Flushed entire system with bleach twice. Even went so far as to confirm that when the house was built, they did not plumb the irrigation water to the fridge. Not sure of the source of the bacteria as the raw incoming water tested fine for bacteria. Only solution found was to remove the Whirlpool whole-house filter, install a UV filter and allow chlorine to pass through system. Put the fridge filter back in service to handle drinking water.
Where do you live?

Something doesn't sound right, the water entering was good.

Where did the bacteria come from?

That type of bacteria is most commonly found in fecal materiel.

You say you now use a UV but that removes chlorine.

My guess is the carbon in the Whilpool unit wasn't maintained.
How often were you changing the filter esp the carbon?

New Englander 01-21-2019 12:55 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by stadtmkw (Post 1618039)
We were running both a whole-house softener and filter. Had to remove the filter because it took the chlorine out and that resulted in high bacteria counts at the sinks and refrigerator dispenser. Both aerobic and coliform bacteria were present. Went nuts tracing this down. Flushed entire system with bleach twice. Even went so far as to confirm that when the house was built, they did not plumb the irrigation water to the fridge. Not sure of the source of the bacteria as the raw incoming water tested fine for bacteria. Only solution found was to remove the Whirlpool whole-house filter, install a UV filter and allow chlorine to pass through system. Put the fridge filter back in service to handle drinking water.
Where is the bacteria and coli-form coming from?

Dan9871 01-21-2019 03:28 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by stadtmkw (Post 1618039)
We were running both a whole-house softener and filter. Had to remove the filter because it took the chlorine out and that resulted in high bacteria counts at the sinks and refrigerator dispenser. Both aerobic and coliform bacteria were present. Went nuts tracing this down. Flushed entire system with bleach twice. Even went so far as to confirm that when the house was built, they did not plumb the irrigation water to the fridge. Not sure of the source of the bacteria as the raw incoming water tested fine for bacteria. Only solution found was to remove the Whirlpool whole-house filter, install a UV filter and allow chlorine to pass through system. Put the fridge filter back in service to handle drinking water.
Even if the chorine is removed from the water there shouldn't be any coliform bacteria in the water. Before we moved to The Villages we had our own well with no filter or softener and no chlorine.

I had the water tested regularly and had a 0 coliform count, which is required for houses in MA. One time we did have non zero count and it turned out the be that the rubber gasket on the well head had deteriorated. After I replaced it I had to shock the well with bleach and then flush the system. Then coliform count went back to zero.

When you shocked the system with bleach did you open ever spigot (hot/cold even the ice/water in the fridge and the toilettes ) until it smelled of bleach, then close it, then let the bleach sit in the system for at least 24 hours? Just putting bleach in the system and then flushing right away won't kill the source of the bacteria.

maxfl1 01-21-2019 04:56 PM
Bypassing my water softener....
 
Had a water softener and whole house filter system (Kinectico- $$$) while living in Tampa for over 28 years. Moved to the The Villages this past March and have installed a Nova whole house filtration system and hit the bypass switch on the already installed water softener. All good here. The water is not as hard as in Tampa from what I have read. My wife is fine with washing her hair. Water tastes great. No stains anywhere in the house. Don't need to ever change the refrigerator filter or go to Lowe's and add salt.

LLamers 01-21-2019 06:10 PM
Water Softener
 
Something to consider when thinking about a softener is that if it is a salt based softener that house plants will not be happy with the water. And remember - at least at my house - the outside spigots are on the house line not the irrigation line. Easy to test by turning off the water at the connection in the garage and turning on one of the outside spigots. I have a water filter because of the chlorine smell when I first moved in (Nova System) - wish I had a softner for the calcium in toilets and on faucets, but my orchids would not be happy!

retiredguy123 01-21-2019 06:19 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by LLamers (Post 1618131)
Something to consider when thinking about a softener is that if it is a salt based softener that house plants will not be happy with the water. And remember - at least at my house - the outside spigots are on the house line not the irrigation line. Easy to test by turning off the water at the connection in the garage and turning on one of the outside spigots. I have a water filter because of the chlorine smell when I first moved in (Nova System) - wish I had a softner for the calcium in toilets and on faucets, but my orchids would not be happy!
To remove the calcium deposits from toilets, get a pumice stone from the swimming pool section of Home Depot. It works great.

jimbo2012 01-21-2019 06:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by LLamers (Post 1618131)
Something to consider when thinking about a softener is that if it is a salt based softener that house plants will not be happy with the water.
Agree, but if you use potassium chloride rather than salt the grass and plants do fine

jimbo2012 01-21-2019 09:01 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 1618132)
To remove the calcium deposits from toilets, get a pumice stone from the swimming pool section of Home Depot. It works great.
it is generally unwise to use pumice on porcelain fixtures: while it may get rid of stains, it will also scratch the finish.

Clorox Clinging gel is very effective

MorTech 01-22-2019 01:44 AM
"Take a look in your toilet water tanks. If all the parts are clear, clean and look new then you probably don't need a softener."

That's a good place to look but also shower heads, dishwasher water jets, coffee maker water tank....

It is best to use the potassium chloride salt. 2x40lbs bags ($30ea=$60) last me about 10 months at ~2000 gallons a month.

The GE softener/filter machine ($800-HomeDepot) back washes the filter at every regen.

Back9 01-22-2019 05:07 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DangeloInspections (Post 1616412)
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.

Dangelo Inspections,

Thank you for your comprehensive, well organized, on-point responses.


.

renpan 01-22-2019 09:21 AM
We've hyad our villages home for 13 years and do not have one

retiredguy123 01-22-2019 05:03 PM
I have a water softener. It's called a bar of soap.


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