Major Water Snob Wants Good Water
We have very hard water where I live and also have had many issues with mineral build-up in our toilets, showers, sinks, etc. I am additionally a major water snob and strongly prefer to only drink & cook with RO filtered water because our city water is packed with chlorine (and you never know what else). I have an under the sink Watts 5 step RO system currently that runs to my sink & I additionally ran a line to my fridge/icemaker, but we are moving to an alternative home & the fridge will no longer have the ability to connect with the RO system because of placement.
We now have thought about getting a water softener or conditioner, but I still want my drinking water & ice, etc. to be RO filtered (those little filters they sell that affix to the water line or install in the fridge SUCK) so I was considering doing a whole home RO system to solve both the build-up & water quality problems. My concern is that we will be wasting Lots of water with a whole house RO system (I’m thinking this because our water reject line currently drains almost non-stop despite completely new filters & membrane). Are there any solutions out there that won’t waste a lot water without skimping on water quality? If we do opt for an entire house RO, a softener/conditioner isn’t needed, right?
Would you recommend a softener or a conditioner for really hard water instead of whole house RO therefore, do you have a preferred type of each type to recommend? I think I would rather not deal with salt pellets, etc, but if softening is much better than conditioning, I will deal with it I suppose. Interesting guidance. I am so worried about making the wrong decision because none of these options are inexpensive-I want to get it right the very first time.
The Water Doctor replied:
First of all, I would not generally recommend a whole-house RO system unless there is some other major reason you’d want to buy. If the water is difficult, you would still have to soften it with a water softener or perhaps a good salt-free water conditioner anyway. If you are really a major water snob, then I would recommend a hybrid water softener.
It not only softens the water for the whole house, but additionally reduces or removes the chlorine along with other chemicals. I suspect that you simply drink RO water since you don’t want the chlorine and chemicals inside your drinking water, but are you aware that you absorb more chemicals and chlorine through your skin and through inhalation (vaporization) in a 20 minute shower than you can ever drink?
Mark Timmons “The Water Doctor” has developed in the water treatment industry since 1972. He currently is Certified through the Water Quality Association as a CWS-VI, CI, CSR and it has held these certifications since 1980. He writes his “Ask The Water Doctor” column for numerous newspapers and publications.
Mark is Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for US Water Systems, discover more about, and purchase, water softening systems on the US Water Systems water softener page.
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