Looking for info on RV watersofteners...

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JoAnn

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We have been googling RV water softeners and have found all price ranges and sizes. 
Right now we are in central Florida until March and we have a double water filter outside and one under the kitchen sink.  Are we doomed to buying bottled water or is there something to make it drinkable in all your vast experience.  Example, we make iced tea and it turns out cloudy and has a "taste" to it.  Not undrinkable but not right. 

Will a water softener help the taste?  Is it worth the investment? 

JoAnn
 
We have a similar filter arrangement and the under-counter filter is equipped with a charcoal element. The park/city water passing through our system has no unusual colour or taste to me. Does your filter have a charcoal element?? Try that before sinking big bucks into a water softener which is meant for "hard water". An independant water test may reveal what you really need....

(Naples FL)
 
To the OP: I don't think that a water softener will make your water taste better. I had a water softener in my last house and it made the water taste terrible, way too salty. I have been full timing for the last 9 years and I have used bottled water the entire time. In fact I give my cats bottled water. The thing I like the most about bottled water is that I found that I really like the taste of Arrowhead bottled water and it is sold at every Walmart in the country. So my water always tastes great. If you filter the water then the taste will vary from location to location. I don't feel I am "doomed" to using bottled water, I feel like I am blessed.

To everyone else: Don't waste your time trying to tell me about bottled water being a rip off. I have heard that for years. I have gotten sick from tap water too many times. I hate the taste of most tap water. I have never gotten sick from bottled water and I love the taste. End of story.
 
SeilerBird said:
To everyone else: Don't waste your time trying to tell me about bottled water being a rip off.
I use bottled (distilled) water for my batteries.  I only drink bottled water is someone gives me a bottle.

Our house in SW Florida is on a well and the water has a high hydrogen sulfide content.  We have an aeritor to solve that problem and water softener to solve any mineral problems.  I drink the water from the faucet and it is great.

I normally fill the water tank on the RV at a location that has "city water".  :)
 
I'm pretty sure we have hard water here, as it doesn't suds up at all in the shower.  Getting it tested is a great idea.  At home  (in NY) we have a water softener and a filter in the refrigerator for the water dispenser.  We have well water and I have no problem drinking that.  We don't buy water for in house use, at home, so that's why the remark.  If it's necessary to do it here, I will, actually did, today.  I also bought a new filter for under the sink.  So we'll see how that works out.  I don't mind buying the gallons of water as much as I dislike having to store them.    BTW, we made a pot of ice tea with the water I bought and it was wonderful :D  Now to see how it is with the new filter. 

I notice many stores have refill water machines.  How does this water measure up to bottled?  I really hate to have to buy the water softener if it doesn't help the taste. 
 
JoAnn said:
I notice many stores have refill water machines.  How does this water measure up to bottled? 
I have tried some water refilling machines in the past, but they are a bigger hassle than just buying bottled water. The problem with water refilling machines is that the taste varies from place to place. Not all machines are created and maintained equally. The local water that they start with is different from town town. I buy Arrowhead because I like the taste and it never varies. I usually buy six or eight gallons at a time and store them in an outside storage bin.
 
The Phoenix area has some of the worst tasting well water, so when we built our house, and not wanting the salt of a water softener, installed a whole house filter using a KDF filtration system. KDF filters out all of the negative components but leaves enough minerals so that the water tastes good. Based on that experience, we put together a water filter system for the coach using the KDF canister filters. We have a sediment filter (about $3) and a KDF filter (about $30) in line and all the water coming into the coach goes thru them. I use 1-2 sediment filters a year and the KDF filter lasts about 2 years. The water tastes good, there are no deposits on the faucets or shower heads and when I clean out my hot water tank I don't have any deposits there either.
 
Water softener won't help water taste...but I am surprised your filter system is not working correctly.

I buy bottle water in the 2.5 gallon containers and sit it on the counter and fill what I need from that, but I also have a "Brita" 2.5 gallon container with a spigot and use that all the time, filling it with whatever tap water I have been hooked up to and some of it has been pretty bad, but once through the Brita I can't tell it from the bottled water. I change the filter in it about every 4 or 5 months...in fact I just changed it yesterday and it has been well over 6 months...

I would look at your filter system and either replace or change the filters....they should be doing the job for you.

Good Luck,

Jim
 
Thanks all!  We opted to hold off on the water softener.  Decided it wasn't worth the cost and trouble. 

The filters we use make a tremendous difference in the water taste, just not wonderful.  The dual filter system made a big difference.

How long should the filters last in the dual system we have?  Our outdoor system is  The Flow-Pur? (dual) ultimate water filter system"  and we have a single one  under the kitchen sink.  We've been using them for about 5 weeks.  I wish they had an alert to change, like our home refrigerator does.   

JoAnn
 
The labels of replacement filters should have an indication of how long (how much usage) they last. Sediment filters can be looked at and replaced when they darken, maybe every 6 months to a year. Our faucet filter and KDF get replaced every 2 years. YMMV and are different for full timers.
 
You've already figured out that a water softener isn't going to do what you want it to but here's another suggestion:

Several  months ago after being on the road for over a year now and getting really tired of buying bottled water I installed a Reverse Osmosis System in our 5th wheel and I can't believe I didn't do this years ago!!  The RO system was purchased from Lowes for around $130 and took an afternoon to install. No more bottled water.

One thing you might want to consider if you do want soft water is a temporary softener from one of the soft water companies in your area.  A few years ago we spent six months on the Colorado River in Arizona where if you drink the water you will not be able to get through an airport metal detector for about a year.  We called a local water softener company and they brought us out a replacable cannister for about a dollar a day.  Once per month or more if necessary they came out and replaced it.  If you're getting a lot of scale build up on your faucets etc. you might want to consider this option.
 

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