Drinking Water in PA (Allentown, Emmaus: house, living in, softener)

[Rosanne]

I was wondering how the tap water is for drinking in PA. I've been living in So. Calif. for the past 30 years, and for all that time we've been drinking bottled water because the water here has so many minerals in it and it tastes awful. You should see what it does to my cookware - yuck. Anyway, my husband and I will be moving to PA in the next couple of years and I was just wondering. When I visit my mother-in-law in Allentown, I drink the water from the tap, and she has been doing the same for the past 40 years, and she seems OK - LOL.

[preciousK]

Well, our water here in Northampton County comes from the easton area, and I think tis from the Delaware River. Please correct me if im wrong. But just recently, our family decided to get a Brita filter pitcher, so we use that now. Our water has a metal taste to it. I would recommend finding some source of filtering if you move here.

[Rosanne]

Thanks PreciousK. That's good to know.

[bamboosmom]

How about in Wayne or Pike County?? Is the water there good?

[graysmom8]

Not sure about Wayne and Pike counties, but the water here in Emmaus (Lehigh Co, next to Allentown) has a chlorine taste to me. My husband grew up drinking the tap water and doesn't really notice it. I grew up on well water so any little extra taste is really magnified for me. We use a PUR faucet mount filter and the water tastes great (plus I feel safer having my toddler drink filtered water, just in case).

GraysMom

[Pensypat]

We have our own well here in Wayne County where I live and it is the most delicious water I have ever tasted. We drink much more water now then we ever did before because it tastes so good. We had a thorough testing done on our water quality, by the way, and the only thing they could find was a slight bit of sediment in it. A whole house filter in the basement took care of that and we just changed the filter every 6 months.

[christina0001]

My mom has well water in Pike county and it takes getting used to. It's not bad, just different if you are used to city water. I thought it tasted good growing up but now that I am used to city water, it tastes odd (but when I add ice it's not as noticable). There is definitely an odor of sulfur (it smells like hardboiling eggs). Again, if you are used to it, you won't notice it; if you aren't used to it, it will surprise you. The water is hard; you need to clean the toilets, dishwasher, etc. out regularly to prevent staining. The stain will come out but the longer you leave it, the harder it is to come out. Assuming you clean your toilet regularly anyway it is not an issue, but you might need to get in the habit of wiping out the dishwasher periodically (once a month at most). Also if you don't have a water softener system (which I know nothing about) whites tend to turn yellow or grey over time, even with the use of bleach. The positive thing is that the water is clean naturally by mother nature vs. city water, which is clean through the use of chemicals (yummy).

[Pensypat]

I am sure water varies from place to place. We have no sulfer smell or any smell to our water for that matter. Also it tastes better than bottled water in our opinion. It does not leave stains on anything and it is not hard at all. So I don't think there is really one asnwer to your question concerning the water in Pa. The answer will depend on who you ask and where they live.

[bamboosmom]

Pat,
That is good to hear! I am sure we will end up with well water too.
Christina, a water softner works miracles! Down here the water is hard too.
We have a softner plus a whole house filtration system. It made the water better than bottled too

[christina0001]

I will have to tell my mom, but at this point I think she is too used to it to consider getting a softener system. Thanks!