14 June  2008 -  Jacksonville, Florida USA                                        

 

Hard vs. Soft Water

I didn't know there is such a thing as “hard” and “soft” water until after our water softener unit went kaput last year.  In retrospect, I vaguely recalled the conversations that transpired when DH first told me our water softener unit needed to be fixed or replaced.  He must have explained to me in detail the difference between the two and all the benefits of having soft water but at that point in time I was only hearing a few trivial words such as not all households in the US have water softener and using hard water doesn’t pose any health risk.   In fact, there was a study conducted earlier that proved drinking water directly out of the faucet is safer than bottled water. Knowing that made me even more convinced not to spend a dime just to have “soft” water in our household hence I pay no heed to it. Without question, I emphatically told DH that for as long as we have hot and cold shower, that’s all I care about.

So we started using hard water. At first I couldn’t really tell the difference between the “hard” and “soft” water except that every time I take a shower the kind of silky-smooth feeling isn’t there anymore… you know the feeling when you try to rinse off the soap in your skin that feels like forever to wash off? That’s it. I didn’t realize that was actually the result of using  “soft” water.

However, six months after the fact, I noticed my hair started to really look frazzled, dull and dry and I am experiencing this sickening skin dryness and itchiness off my back.

That's when I decided to do a little research about “hard”  and  “soft”water.   To sum it up, they all basically say water softener is used to treat hard water. The hardness in water is generally determined by the presence of calcium and magnesium in the water and what softener unit does is, it removes a small amount of iron, manganese and replaced the calcium and magnesium with sodium making the water soft in your skin, hair, laundry, appliances and etc.   DH was right that hard water is not a health risk but accordingly the effect of the hardness can be costly to water heaters, plumbing and fixtures because of the possible damage caused by the mineral buildup overtime and the outflow of extensive use of soap, detergent and shampoo means higher water consumption.

"Hard water is not a health risk, but a nuisance because of mineral buildup on fixtures and poor soap and/or detergent use. The effect of the hardness can be costly because of damage to water heaters and plumbing, and the outflow of extensive use of soap, detergent, shampoo and water".

Damn! I hate it when DH is right and gave me that "I-told-you-so" look you know.  So anyway, I got on the phone to speak with four different water treatment local dealer reps for some information/price quotation: I was pretty much told that the  price of the unit depends on the brand and how much water we consumed every month.

The Culligan man later that afternoon showed up in our house to do the test and talk to us about the many different water treatments. Surprisingly, he did an excellent sales pitch about their water treatment product. First time I heard the word Reverse Osmosis.    Reverse Osmosis (RO unit) is one type of water filtration where water is passed through a semi-permeable membrane, which filters out almost every water contaminants and sediment, chlorine taste and odor, lead, cysts, arsenic, asbestos, cysts, radium and turbidity.  This process is best known to purify water by removing the salt from soft water producing safe drinkable water.   

As outrageous as the price may sounds but I was completely sold out to his sales presentation and without much discussion,  DH and I agreed to sign the sale's contract for $2,999 that's for two units:  Culligan Gold Series™ Water Softener and Reverse Osmosis System, taxes, cost of labor and installations included.     However, after the Culligan man left, I though to myself, was I stupid or what? Man, that’s a lot of money for a piece of unit!    What was I thinking? Then, it dawned on me that we actually have three days to terminate the contract before it becomes binding. So as you have guessed it, I called the Culligan man first thing first in the morning to retract the contract.

Then I made another appointment with two more sales' reps from different local water treatment companies. They all came out to our house to talk to us about their line of water treatment product. Basically, the other guy from Water Hue Company quoted us $2,999 + $299 for RO unit which is even more expensive than the Culligan man.

Another guy from Affordable Water quoted us $1,200 to fix our existing unit or $2,000 to replace the same exact unit that was broken. The RO wasn’t even mentioned in the whole presentation and when I asked him, he priced it for $299. 

I thought to myself, can I get any cheaper than this?    Finally, the next weekend DH and I went out on a mission to check-out other water softeners and RO units at Sears, Home Depot and Lowes just to make some comparison.  We didn’t find anything at Sears and Home Depot but Lowes has only few selections and these are what we got:

Whirlpool® 40,000 Grain Capacity Water Softener
                                   Item #: 63540       Model: WHES40

Ideal for households of 1-5 people or more
SUPER HIGH FLOW RATE up to 1-1/4" super high flow valve
Demand Initiated Regeneration with Salt Saving Technology
Only recharges when necessary - saving salt & water
Control Display Features: demand initiated regeneration, water flow indicator, low salt indicator, salt storage tank light and iron removal setting
Space saving single tank design
Warranty: 1 year full parts and labor

 

Whirlpool High Capacity Reverse Osmosis System (RO) Water Filter
Item #: 129808    Model  WHER25

Filters out sediment, chlorine taste and odor, lead, cysts, chemicals and total dissolved solids.
EZ change indicator light.
Reduces select contaminates such as: Arsenic, asbestos, cysts, lead, radium and turbidity.
High capacity system delivers bottle-quality water at your sink and also notifies you when it is time to replace filters replaced about every 12 months in the average household.

 

Estimated Installation/labor = $500 (minimum of $189 per unit for an hour labor plus $99 per hour thereafter) Ouch!!

To do the math, even if we get the two units professionally installed at Lowes, $1,300 is still a lot less compared to the price quotes from the three local dealers above. As it turned out, since I talked my handy man, DH to put his “DIY” learned-skills into work, we only had to spend about $900 for a piece of decent water softener unit and RO system.

Overall, it's really worth to have a water softener unit and Reverse Osmosis system because not only our water consumption went down a little bit but most of all, my hair is back to being silky again; the itchiness off my back was gone and we don't have to buy bottled water anymore because the RO unit give us purified, filtered and chlorine free water.  It has been proven that water from a Reverse Osmosis filter is 100% safer and purer than the spring bottled water because it filters out sediment, lead, cysts, chlorine taste and odor.

We just have to replace the RO filters twice a year and replenish the salt every three to four months. 

Here's the actual photo of our kitchen sink after the RO system was installed:

The faucet to the right is the RO system that give us purified/filtered and chlorine free water only for drinking and cooking and the one to the left is for washing and etc.  The tank and three filters of RO system were tucked underneath the sink.

 

So are you interested in taking some precautions with your drinking water?

Check this out:  This water softener FAQ is made up of eight parts:

1.  Hard water questions
2.  Water softening questions
3.  Softening salts questions
4.  Softening costs questions
5.  Softening drinking water questions
6.  Softeners maintenance questions
7.  Softener operational questions
8.  Softener in households questions

There are many thousands products on the market that claim to provide you, the consumer, with purest water available, everything from filtration systems and distillation units to bottled water. There are, for instance, over 2,500 different water filters on the market....continue reading

P.S.
I don't get paid to endorse or blog about these products rather I am just sharing this information to help other consumers who are looking for product reviews and stuff.

 

    6 June  2008 -  Jacksonville, Florida USA                                        

 

Where Did The Time Go?

I can’t believe we are half-way through the year of 2008 already!   Meaning it’s been nearly six months since DH and I have started a diet and exercise regimen on our own but suffice it to say we haven’t achieved a thing.  Quite to the contrary, we put on some weight in the last three weeks because food seemed to be our only refuge and it's like nirvana to us.

     

Now, bouts of paranoia attack is getting on me again.  I can’t go on pretending DH is going to be ok despite his weight gain.   What can I do?  I am a hypochondriac, paranoid at heart on top of being crazy in love with my man no matter how fat he is.

Anyway, last month, DH and I planned to ride our HD-Road King down to Key West to spend the three-day Memorial weekend but after much thought; 15 hours ride one way, not to mention the hotel rates are outrageously pricey ranging from $200 to $400 per night, the stinginess in me made us changed plans the next day. 

So then I went surfing on the Internet for a nice place outside Jacksonville to spend our memorial weekend until I stumbled to Paula Deen’s website showing the schedule of her “Live Cooking Show” for May 26th.   Everybody knows Paula lives in Savannah, Georgia right? And I swear I heard it before that the show is filmed in her own southern style kitchen in her very own lovely home in Savannah, Georgia.  So without thinking, I went ahead and bought two tickets for the show from Ticketmaster.com.  Thereafter,  I also booked 2 nights hotel reservations through Priceline.com.  Imagine the dismay in my face when I got a confirmation email for our tickets looking at the venue of the show is in Mississippi state.  Thank heaven, Ticketmaster is nice enough to refund the two tickets for the full amount.  However, I can't get our money back for the hotel because one of the terms and conditions of Priceline is, you either use it or you lose it… so we might as well use it just to get away from our daily routine at home. 

Needless to say, the 3-day weekend in Savannah turned out to be short yet sweet honeymoon for DH and I.  This hotel room from Extended Stay America is immaculate, spacious with fully-equipped kitchen, appliances and linens.  One night we went to order a take out BBQ platter from a local diner so we can saved the left-over for the next day. 

The regular rate for this room for 2 nights is $362.00 but I bid it through Priceline for  $110.50 only. It's really a real deal considering the room is fully furnished with refrigerator, oven, microwave, coffee maker, bread toaster, kitchen utensils, pots and pans) 
 

You guys got to see this 124-year old Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Church built with murals, marbles and stained glass. I was in awe!

Savannah has a lot of rich history in itself and it is a laid back place… a lot of big tress around that made the ambiance very refreshing. DH and I talked in passing about retiring in this place someday. 

That's it for now, it's getting late already so time for me to hit the sack.