[Mikeod]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

The water in The Villages is considered "hard" to "very hard" at about 12 grains per gallon. A water softener will reduce the hardness to essentially zero. While there is no evidence to suggest that the hardness will cause any medical issues, many people like the multiple advantages of soft water. If you don't want the small increase in sodium in the softened water you can use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride for the resin regeneration process. Filtering to remove dirt and chlorine (pretty high in The Villages) is also a good idea in addition to a water softener. The removal of chlorine before the water softener will also extend the life of the resin used for ion exchange in the water softener.

After reading this post, I decided to retest our water using the test strip I got from a softener company. Here is the result:


As you can see, the water does not test as hard, rather it shows only 3 grains per gallon. I don't have a softener, only a filter system from Nova. We have no problems with personal or clothes washing. I did have a softener years ago, but the resin tank detriorated and sent resin into our lines, contaminating the fridge filter as well as making the water undrinkable. And we were taking that resin into our bodies and cooking with it! Never again. I got the same story about the water being very hard from the softener salesman.

[Mikeod]

Ok, the picture didn't post. Here it is, hopefully.

[tuccillo]

I did a titration test on the water after the water softener and the grains per gallon came out between 0 and 1. The sensitivity of the test is 1 grain per gallon. For all practical purposes the hardness was reduced to 0. There is no "neutral" hardness. There is only varying degrees of hardness. The original hardness was 12 grains per gallon. It could be different where you live.

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

That is factually incorrect, two reasons the water here has a hardness of about 10 not 12, but that's neither here nor there.

Fact water softeners DO NOT reduce hardness to zero, they bring to about 7, which is considered neutral.

heath issues
hard water has many health benefits when compared to soft water.
Two of the most prevalent minerals in hard water are calcium and magnesium. Both calcium and magnesium are considered essential nutrients, meaning that they must be provided in the diet in order to maintain healthy body function. Calcium is a critical component of bones, and has many positive effects on the body, such as prevention of serious life-threatening and painful ailments like osteoporosis, kidney stones, hypertension, stroke, obesity, and coronary artery disease. Magnesium also has positive health effects. Inadequate amounts of magnesium in the body increase the risks for some forms of health problems, such as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus.

Studies done on the health effects of hard and soft water have shown that people who drink greater amounts of soft water have much higher incidences of heart disease, as well as higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and faster heart rates than those who drink mostly hard water.

from UC Davis


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[tuccillo]

Resin doesn't last forever. High chlorine levels will cause it to deteriorate faster. Your water tests at a lower hardness than mine. YMMV.

Originally Posted by Mikeod

After reading this post, I decided to retest our water using the test strip I got from a softener company. Here is the result:


As you can see, the water does not test as hard, rather it shows only 3 grains per gallon. I don't have a softener, only a filter system from Nova. We have no problems with personal or clothes washing. I did have a softener years ago, but the resin tank detriorated and sent resin into our lines, contaminating the fridge filter as well as making the water undrinkable. And we were taking that resin into our bodies and cooking with it! Never again. I got the same story about the water being very hard from the softener salesman.

[tuccillo]

I suspect you have confused water hardness with acidity. A pH of 7 would be considered neutral - not acidic or basic. However, we are not talking about acidity.

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

That is factually incorrect, two reasons the water here has a hardness of about 10 not 12, but that's neither here nor there.

Fact water softeners DO NOT reduce hardness to zero, they bring to about 7, which is considered neutral.

heath issues
hard water has many health benefits when compared to soft water.
Two of the most prevalent minerals in hard water are calcium and magnesium. Both calcium and magnesium are considered essential nutrients, meaning that they must be provided in the diet in order to maintain healthy body function. Calcium is a critical component of bones, and has many positive effects on the body, such as prevention of serious life-threatening and painful ailments like osteoporosis, kidney stones, hypertension, stroke, obesity, and coronary artery disease. Magnesium also has positive health effects. Inadequate amounts of magnesium in the body increase the risks for some forms of health problems, such as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus.

Studies done on the health effects of hard and soft water have shown that people who drink greater amounts of soft water have much higher incidences of heart disease, as well as higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and faster heart rates than those who drink mostly hard water.

from UC Davis


.

[Warren Kiefer]

Originally Posted by tag460

There have been numerous threads on the water here in The Villages. One question that I seen ask many times, is any type of system is needed, whether it be a water softener or filtration system? I had a three filter system installed with 20 inch filters. It has a 5 micron carbon filter, 10 micron filter and 20 micron filter. I just changed the filters after two years of use and decided to post a picture of filters that remove impurities in the water. (manufacture recommends fifteen months usage) For me money well spent!

The Villages water dept tell us there is no need for water conditioners and the water here is perfect.

[jimbo2012]

Originally Posted by Warren Kiefer

The Villages water dept tell us there is no need for water conditioners and the water here is perfect.

If that were true the filters would be white as fresh snow




Since they are filthy perhaps you want to consider their statement as suspect

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Warren Kiefer

The Villages water dept tell us there is no need for water conditioners and the water here is perfect.

Where did you read that?


We don't have a water conditioner. Have never had a water conditioner. Have lived in areas with really hard water but think this water is fine. I think it is a matter of personal taste and/or what you are used to. We drink the water filtered from the fridge and our laundry is nice and clean. Been here eight years now. Just another view for a new person's consideration. As Dilly always says, there are two sides to a board.

[tuccillo]

The water is safe to drink but there isn't a classification of "perfect". There are "high" chlorine levels and some folks will argue that there are some health consequences from that. To me, the water taste bad from the "high" chlorine levels and I choose to remove it with a carbon block filter. The water is also hard and I prefer soft water so I have a water softener. All city water has some dirt in it. I filter it out before the carbon block filter so as to extend the life of the carbon block filter. The dirt won't hurt you. To each his own.

Originally Posted by Warren Kiefer

The Villages water dept tell us there is no need for water conditioners and the water here is perfect.