Reverse Osmosis System For Home? (1 Viewer)

[Anthony Martino]

Continuing to do research on the town we're considering moving to in TX (seeing the home this weekend) and came across this report:

https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/system.php?pws=TX1040001


Considering a reverse osmosis system for the point of entry on the house, but wanted to see if anyone has other recommendations or tips. Currently here in Tampa we have a water softener plus an iron breaker III setup to remove tanins from the water (causes stuff to get yellowed) and also to deal with sulfa smell from the well.

And then on top of that we use a brita pitcher/filter with water from the tap to get our drinking water after all that.

Should I just find a company to test our water as part of the home inspection process? We're already looking to get a general inspection, termite inspection and A/C system inspection also if we decide to proceed forward with this house.

 

[bergs]

I had one in MA and it was great for cleaner better tasting water and water pressure from our well. I have one here but not at the main - it’s in front of our drinking water and water dispenser in the fridge. Great for hard horrible tasting water (PHX).

 

[David O]

I am in Texas and where we are at we have very hard water. I purchased a Kinetico immediately after I moved in. I have more flirtation only at the sink and refrigerator for drinking. I have a whole house water softener. No reason to have RO water in the toilet, shower and wash basins but your pkumbing and appliances will love the soft water. If you are spending the money get a good softener. I like Kinetico because it uses kinetic energy rather than electricity so it only softens when needed. It wastes less water and in turn uses way less salt.

You should get someone to test the water. If the water is hard water I would suggest a softener. If it has a smell or weird taste go with as RO. If it is hard I would do a softener and add something for drinking water at the kitchen sink.

From what I hear you will definitely need softener since West Texas historically ranks as some of the hardest water in the country.

 

[Anthony Martino]

Thank you both, good information!

 

[DrStrange]

Water quality in parts of Texas can be astonishingly bad. Hard water and salty water plus all sorts of minerals that smell bad and / or taste bad. You cam just take a sip of water from an outside faucet and often know there are water quality issues.

Hard water leads to all sorts of plumbing problems as the pipes clog up with deposits. Hot water heaters fail quickly. Spigots and faucets leak or freeze up. Be sure to ask your inspector specifically about these issues.

Indoor water needs to be treated at the point of entry. RO water for drinking and making ice. Outdoor water should not be treated - even though this means your outdoor plumbing will need repairs.

RO drinking water is a great investment. I have had one for 25 years and never would go without it.

Buy your gear, don't lease it. The cost of rentals is much higher than owning over a number of years.

 

[tabletalker7]

I don't know anything about these systems, but wouldn't you want the test done anyway? That way you can give the test to the people installing the system so they know what they are up against

 

[VMR911]

I am in Texas and where we are at we have very hard water. I purchased a Kinetico immediately after I moved in. I have more flirtation only at the sink and refrigerator for drinking. I have a whole house water softener. No reason to have RO water in the toilet, shower and wash basins but your pkumbing and appliances will love the soft water. If you are spending the money get a good softener. I like Kinetico because it uses kinetic energy rather than electricity so it only softens when needed. It wastes less water and in turn uses way less salt.

You should get someone to test the water. If the water is hard water I would suggest a softener. If it has a smell or weird taste go with as RO. If it is hard I would do a softener and add something for drinking water at the kitchen sink.

From what I hear you will definitely need softener since West Texas historically ranks as some of the hardest water in the country.

This is excellent insight - the only thing I would add is don't do RO for your drinking water. It takes out too much of the good stuff in the filtering process. A strong filter that keeps good minerals in or remineralizes or better alkalizes your water would be recommended by me

 

[aggie]

Hard water in many parts of Texas will wreak havoc on your appliances and kitchenware, so you'll need a high quality water softener (not the kind you can buy at Home Depot). Be prepared to add salt regularly. If the home you're purchasing has lines run, installing one is a snap and can save you tons of money. If not, you may want to go with a company like Kinetico to do everything for you.

That said, no need to pay for tests ... the water softener companies will stalk you and hunt you down after moving in, so let them run the tests for you and make recommendations. Then you can decide if you'd like to take on the work yourself. I've been down this road several times and am happy to point you in the right direction if you end up going at it alone.

I highly recommend RO as well, but you'll want to add a remineralization filter inline ... otherwise you'll lose all the important minerals your body seeks from water.

 

[Machine]

I don't like the reverse osmosis systems, they make the water taste bad imo.

I do like a water softener for the house water but that also changes the taste of the water. I grew up on a good well, and nothing tastes quite like it. I dislike city water as well. My solution? Grocery stores carry a 'spring' water I like, so I buy it solely for drinking. Reverse Osmosis would be overkill on top of a softener imo.

I think the best case scenario for Reverse Osmosis is what Berg points out, a well with poor tasting water.

I highly recommend RO as well, but you'll want to add a remineralization filter inline ... otherwise you'll lose all the important minerals your body seeks from water.

This may change the game for me.

 

[VMR911]

This may change the game for me.

Most definitely!

 

[Mortalpawn]

I know quite a few homebrewers who have small RO systems in their house for brewing. It lets them build up their own water profile for a beer when the local water is unsuitable. They work well, but obviously you need to size the system for your needs.

As others have pointed out it gives you a profile close to distilled water so you may still need to add some salts to get the water back to normal ion levels. That’s what brewers do with RO water.

 

[pltrgyst]

After dealing with lousy water and losing a $3K espresso machine the first year in FL, we installed a Halo 5 maintenance-free whole house system, and it has been terrific for 9 years now. If it craps out after the ten-year warranty expires, we'll undoubtedly go the same way again.

https://halowater.com/products/halo-5/
or
https://halowater.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2020-HALO-5.SPEC_.pdf

 

[bergs]

I don't like the reverse osmosis systems, they make the water taste bad imo.

I do like a water softener for the house water but that also changes the taste of the water. I grew up on a good well, and nothing tastes quite like it. I dislike city water as well. My solution? Grocery stores carry a 'spring' water I like, so I buy it solely for drinking. Reverse Osmosis would be overkill on top of a softener imo.

I think the best case scenario for Reverse Osmosis is what Berg points out, a well with poor tasting water.


This may change the game for me.

Or, a well with Radon. I really didn’t have a choice in the matter given the radon test we ran at the old house in MA - but we expected a high radon test given the town is built on one giant subterranean granite slab that pumps off radon like I pump off chips at Dramaha.

RO gave us great water pressure but I’m not sure it changed the taste of the water at all. Tasted fine to me to begin with and I didn’t notice a change with RO.

EDIT: thinking back now, we had a RO bubbler when the water came into the house and right before the salt brining tanks, so we were getting some salt and such back into the water.