water in california (Alhambra, Davis: to rent, appliances, house)

[YoungTraveler2011]

so i live in NYC and the water here is very soft / pretty good quality.

every time i visit california, i notice after a shower, dry scalp. im assuming the water there is hard water.

my question is, do shower head water filters do any good?

im moving there soon and i know skin/scalp dryness is gonna be a pain in the butt. i figured maybe getting a good filter might help.

anyone have this problem?

good thing is that the LA area isnt like phoenix. it def. rains in LA during certain months. so that helps with the the dryness.

just curious to see if anyone has this kind of problem and how they deal with it.

[DinsdalePirahna]

I got use to. Dandruff shampoos help.
The water here is nowhere near the quality you get in New York (city and State)

[matzoman]

True, The water is harder and not as drinkable as tap from New York. Interestingly a lot of chefs out west go to great length to get water from New York to cook with. California tap is not good but the worst I tasted was Nevada and Indiana.

[Justin Time]

California has very HARD water. Water softeners help tremendously.
Softeners and filters are NOT the same thing.

A shower head water softener will soften your water in the shower and this will be great for you IF your ONLY concern is the effect of hard water on your hair and skin. You'll use less soap and shampoo and have less residue on yourself and your shower.

Most people prefer water softening systems for the entire house. Hard water is "hard" on appliances and can also cause undesirable effects with regards to laundry and dish washing.

If you are planning to rent when you get to LA, ask your landlord if you can install a water softening system.
It could be worth it to you to split the cost with the landlord IF you plan to leave it when you move out.

[YoungTraveler2011]

Originally Posted by Justin Time

California has very HARD water. Water softeners help tremendously.
Softeners and filters are NOT the same thing.

A shower head water softener will soften your water in the shower and this will be great for you IF your ONLY concern is the effect of hard water on your hair and skin. You'll use less soap and shampoo and have less residue on yourself and your shower.

Most people prefer water softening systems for the entire house. Hard water is "hard" on appliances and can also cause undesirable effects with regards to laundry and dish washing.

If you are planning to rent when you get to LA, ask your landlord if you can install a water softening system.
It could be worth it to you to split the cost with the landlord IF you plan to leave it when you move out.

im definitely gonna get a water softener. the only issue is, doesnt water softeners use salt to soften the water? this could be even worse. at least this is how it was when i lived in michigan. we had a water softener for the entire house and we used salt to soften it.

i basically need something that can be as close to H2O only as possible

[BRinSM]

i'm nearly certain that if you get a water softener then the water becomes non-potable.

[nightlysparrow]

All water softeners do use salt.

[Justin Time]

Originally Posted by YoungTraveler2011

im definitely gonna get a water softener. the only issue is, doesnt water softeners use salt to soften the water? this could be even worse. at least this is how it was when i lived in michigan. we had a water softener for the entire house and we used salt to soften it.

i basically need something that can be as close to H2O only as possible

Even with a basic water softener you can use potassium. I NEVER put salt in my water softener.
Water Softener Alternatives - Clean, Safe Water For Your House!
Salt Free Water Softener for Hard Water | Culligan
Salt Free Water Softener - Pelican Water Systems

Originally Posted by BRinSM

i'm nearly certain that if you get a water softener then the water becomes non-potable.

Not all softeners use salt. IF you use salt in a water softener, then you don't drink the water.

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

All water softeners do use salt.

Nope. See the links above.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by matzoman

True, The water is harder and not as drinkable as tap from New York. Interestingly a lot of chefs out west go to great length to get water from New York to cook with. California tap is not good but the worst I tasted was Nevada and Indiana.

le.

Not all tap water in California is bad. It will vary by city and location. I live in the SF Bay Area and my tap water is more than acceptable.

In SoCal, it might not be the case. Stayed at a friend's place in Sherman Oaks and the tap water taste was pretty minerally-tasting, it made for lousy-tasting coffee and tea, before my friend told me he used a filter on the tap water to make tea/coffee.

Also, I remember a really good friend of my dad's who lived in Davis (a professor at UCD) would come to our house and bring a bunch of water jugs and fill 'em up from our tap to take home. He said that his water was really hard. Later he got Alhambra water service for his home.

But I do agree that NYC tap water is quite good.