water softeners (Dallas, Paris, Milford: house, water heater, buy)

[Spree]

In FL, the water is awful! Almost everyone has water softeners. I had never had one before and now that we do, I love it and wonder if I could do without.

Is it a personal preference in Dallas? How's the water there?

b

[momof2dfw]

Yes, it is a personal preference. The only time you may want it is when the lakes develop the algae once a year like they do. It will have a funky taste to it. I use bottled water at home to drink and to make iced tea. When it is like that we don't order tea out. Same when the lake "turns" and has a muddy taste to it. But the algae thing is once a year. A few builders offer water softeners.

[momof2dfw]

Here is the link to the North Texas Municipal Water District and the page talking about the "algal bloom" and a snippet of what it says. There is a link on that page also to go to for more info.

http://www.ntmwd.com/taste_odor.html

What causes the taste and odor changes?

A natural occurrence in all surface water supplies, an “algal bloom”, is responsible for the taste and odor changes in the water supply. Algal blooms usually occur in late July and into August each year.

What are the conditions for an algal bloom to occur in Lavon Lake?

Nutrients must be present – such as nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium, which are derived from decaying vegetation in the lake.
Turbidity has lessened – the turbidity or cloudiness of the lake water has cleared up, allowing the penetration of the sunlight. This occurs due to lack of rainfall.
Temperature increase – the optimum temperature range of the lake water for an algal bloom to occur is between 80° - 85°. This is provided through many hot summer days.
When all conditions are met, photosynthesis will take place and the algae will grow and/or proliferate. Algal species, such as anabaena, secrete an “oily” substance from their cells that causes an odor in the water supply. Aquatic fungi, actinomycetes, grow on dead and decaying algae and cause an earthy taste in the water.

[Dedalus]

A water softener will not help you with off tastes and odors in water. All it does is take out calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese. These things are terrible on boilers and water heaters, and can stain your laundry, but don't have much health relevance.

If your only concern is the way your water tastes, you might get by with one of those Britta dispensers. You can also buy under the sink RO or carbon filters. Check out Sears.

[Spree]

Actually, we drink bottled water here as well. I do use the tap for lemonade, coffee, tea etc. What I like about the water softener is how my hair and skin feels. My color lasts much longer, lol! Gone are the water spots on the dishes, film/spots on the shower doors. Cleaning the house seems much easier. I feel that the laundry comes out so much whiter and clothing color seem to last longer. I use at least half of the detergent needed. About a year ago, our softener needed to be repaired, I sure could tell the difference.

b

[Dedalus]

The hardest water I ever encountered was in Paris, France. Everytime I took a shower, I wound up with a hockey puck of matted hair and whitish-gray crap in the drain. And I know what you mean about feeling clean. It did really funny things to my hair, too.

It's not hard to see why this is. Walk on the banks of the Seine River, it's covered with limestone pebbles. Just about every grocery store has a selection of water sofening products.

[socketz]

I'm hard core....drink it straight from the faucet.

Living on the edge.

I have noticed that it taste alot different now that it is raining more frequently. Does that sound right ? Maybe more of a Chlorine taste ? All this talk, well I think I'll get up and go get me a drink of that stinky ole faucet water.....

[GoPadge]

In Milford the city's water, partially came from wells. The water out of the tap tasted fine. But it did horrid things to tea or frozen juices.

[Dedalus]

No matter where I am, I drink out of the tap.

I'm not too familiar with the South. I once spent a bunch of time in Alabama, commented to one of my co-workers how bad the tap water tasted, and he made a face and said, "You been drinking the tap water, boy?"

I guess that means you're not supposed to, heh.

Realistically, speaking as a water chemist, there's little to fear healthwise from tap water here in the USA. There's a lot of paranoia created by people who want to sell you things.