Originally Posted by Russ_Boston (Post 420295)

You had it prior? You haven't been there that long have you? I haven't noticed any mold or white spots but then again we've only been down 5-6 weeks this year.

Originally Posted by HelenLCSW (Post 420296)

We have been living in Miami for over twenty years --more humid than the villages. While mold is an issue in Florida, the orange stuff is not mold, but minerals. Sounds as though there are two issues with the water in TV. The discoloration and calcification from minerals and tge taste of bleach from the chlorinization of the water to make it potable --so I guess that means we will need both a water softener to address the minerals and a filter to address the taste --or is there a one-size-fits-all?:oops:

Originally Posted by lovsthosebigdogs (Post 420332)

I don't mean to sound stupid, but my only experience with 'soft water' is a trip years ago to my aunt's house and she had a whole house water softener which made my skin and hair feel like I could never wash the soap/shampoo out. The feeling was so awful that I was in the shower for twice as long as usual until she finally came up and asked if I was ok. I told her my skin and hair seemed soapy after several minutes under the water and I couldn't wash out the soap. She laughed and said it was only the softener. Is that the way it is for everyone and do you just have to adjust to that feeling? Or, have they made improvements to the system in the many years since I experienced this as a teenager? I sure hope that this isn't the way I have to live the rest of my days, never knowing if the soap is on or off (truly, no exaggeration on the feeling in my memory. It has stayed with me for 40+ years).
Can anyone tell me if their softener makes any noticable difference when showering or washing?

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter (Post 420336)

This may help...............

Do you have hard water? If you do, you may have a water softener to help protect your plumbing from scale buildup, prevent soap scum, and lessen the amount of soap and detergent needed for cleaning. You've probably heard that cleaners work better in soft water than in hard water, but does that mean you will feel cleaner if you bathe in soft water? Actually, no. Rinsing in soft water may leave you feeling a little slippery and soapy, even after a thorough rinsing. Why? The answer lies in understanding the chemistry of soft water and soap.
Hard water contains calcium and magnesium ions. Water softeners remove those ions by exchanging them for sodium or potassium ions. Two factors contribute to that slippery-when-wet feeling you get after soaping up with soft water. First, soap lathers better in soft water than in hard water, so it's easy to use too much. The more dissolved soap there is, the more water you need to rinse it away. Second, the ions in softened water lessen its ability to 'stick' to the soap molecules, making it more difficult to rinse the cleanser off your body.

The reaction between a triglyceride molecule (fat) and sodium hydroxide (lye) to make soap yields a molecule of glycerol with three ionically-bonded molecules of sodium stearate (the 'soap' part of soap). This sodium salt will give up the sodium ion to water, while the stearate ion will precipitate out of solution if it comes into contact with an ion that binds it more strongly than sodium (e.g., the magnesium or calcium in hard water). The magnesium stearate or calcium stearate is a waxy solid that you know as soap scum. It can form a ring on your tub, but it rinses off your body. The sodium or potassium in soft water makes it much more unfavorable for the sodium stearate to give up its sodium ion so that it can form an insoluble compound and get rinsed away. Instead, the stearate clings to the slightly charged surface of your skin. Essentially, soap would rather stick to you than get rinsed away in soft water.

There are a few ways you can address the problem. You can use less soap, try a synthetic liquid body wash (synthetic detergent or syndet), or rinse with naturally-soft water or rainwater (probably won't contain elevated levels of sodium or potassium).

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 420356)

And I thought you were just another pretty face...........

Originally Posted by ladydoc (Post 420311)

Yes, we had it before we put the water conditioner/water filter in. We were here in July and put in the water conditioner in October. And that was long enough for the orange stuff to appear.

Originally Posted by B. Johnson (Post 422079)

Have read many comments about water quality in various areas of TV; anyone care to comment about the water taste, smell, hardness in Tamarind Grove?

Originally Posted by CarGuys (Post 422109)

As a owner there I am going to be very interested. I am going to have my friends in Tamarind who are there now have the water tested.