Posted by Todd on August 25, 2009, 19:54:16
24.124.113.95
Hey guys. I need some help with this stuff. Our city water is not too great. The wife wants a softener and I told her it may not do as much as she thinks. Our water DEFINITELY needs a whole house filtration system on it first. To make sure it is not just particulate matter that is causing the trouble. Most of it revolves around trouble rinsing the hair clean and feeling like there is a bit of...I don't know what on your skin after baths. Just a harshness that I think may be more related to chlorine levels and dirty water mains than hardness. Every summer the algae odor is great enough on certain days to make the water taste astringent. So yeah, filtering first.
Now to softeners. After a LOT of online searching you find they ALL do the same thing. No matter how much they cost or who's name is on them. We looked at Hague brand. Thousands, and I mean THOUSANDS of dollars installed from their reps. No way. I then found a few online dealers who honestly said there was no reason to buy super premium softeners and to stick with a controller made by Fleck(I think that is right). My main concern with a softener is the issue of the brine dump a few times a week. Does this have any effect on drain lines? My house was built in 1972. It has PVC drains throughout EXCEPT for at least one drain from the kitchen sink. It goes straight down through to the garage floor and then picks up cast iron under the slab to the main drain line. Fine, I realize the softener won't drain into that. What worries me is the possibility that my main stack picks up ALL cast iron under the slab. How can I check this short of tearing out my walls to see if it picks up a cast hub at floor level? Is it even likely? I suspect it transitions to clay tile outside the home to the sewer main but who knows? 1972 was a transitional area around here. I know just a few years later they learned their lessons and you won't find anything but PVC all the way to the sewer main now.
Filters? Yeah, you can pick up the stuff at Home Desperate but is there something better that is not a thousand bucks? Every time I search I find nothing in between the $50 filters at H.D. and the 800-1000 units from specialty dealers. How about those Purex filters you see at coffee machines and water fountains in industrial kitchens like our dormitories? They are about 3 feet long, four inches in diameter and come in various micron ratings. Would these be better than the HD jobs. Thanks guys. I need to do something fast. I am not hearing the end of it at home.
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