Note: I am usually loathe to recommend a product or brand, but this is a big exception.
One of the things that I liked about "This Old Crack House" was that Mr. & Mrs. C had a water softener installed, and that it was still there when I took possession of the house.
You see, the water in Fairborn is crap. Sure, it is chlorinated and filtered and all that, but it is still nasty. The smell of chlorine is overwhelming at times. There is so much lime in the water it is literally hard as a rock...any wonder one of the biggest industries in town is a cement plant?
Years ago, my father installed a whole-house water filter. This is a polyester wound cartridge held in a clear container and all the water for the house runs through it. The cartridge is supposed to be good for six months of filtration. Uh...yeah, right. In a month the cartridge is completely black.
Anyhow, I was happy that I now had a water softener! Showers were so much better, laundry so much cleaner. My water did not smell of chlorine anymore. Yippee!
Then one day I awoke like normal and went and turned on the shower. Nothing came out of the tap. I tried the sink, and again, nothing. I thought that I might have forgotten the water bill and they shut me off! Crap! I rushed to the basement stairs and stopped dead...I heard water running. I went down in to the basement and was treated to a flood of biblical proportion. Part of my basement was about two inches deep in water.
Thanks to the uneven floor in my basement, not everything was flooded. The furnace and water heater are situated on concrete pads, so they were high and dry. But, the water softener was definitely the culprit as water was gushing out from the salt chamber. I bypassed the softener to return water to the house and checked it out more carefully. I could not see any obvious reason as to why the softener would suddenly leak the hell over my basement.
The water drained away slowly, the ancient floor drain needing a good roto-rooting. I was late for work, so I left it to drain away all day and went to work.
Now I was disappointed. I had no water softener. Now I was subject to the crap water that everyone else has to deal with. This led me to wonder about how long my water heater would last...every time it heated or filled, you can hear large chunks of limescale hitting the sides of the tank. (Yes, a new water heater is in my future...)
The next weekend I dismantled the poor water softener. Then I discovered the reason: the side of the resin tank, the fiberglass reinforced tank, had ruptured. I was able to guess that the reason this happened is that the realtor, when the house was first put on the market, had hired a firm to winterize the house...and they did not drain the water softener. There was a big gash in the fiberglass where the water had frozen and weakend the tank, and the standard water pressure had finally gotten to it and split it the rest of the way. Needless to say, I was not happy, but there was nothing I could do. It was a Kenmore softener, so I got online and priced out a new tank, which was still available, and the resin to go in it. The price was about 3/4 that of a new, fancier softener. I decided to wait and suffer.
When tax time rolled around, I got my refund and set about looking for a new softener. I wasn't convinced that a new Kenmore or GE or other brand from a big box store was for me. The reviews were mediocre for most of them. Then I stumbled across a number of online stores that allowed you to "roll your own" water softener.
The place I chose to buy from was Ohio Pure Water Co. They had the most comprehensive website and I was duly impressed. They also had great prices. I ordered a 32,000 grain kit, along with several upgrades and a fancy-schmancy Fleck valve (the Cadillac of softener valves, I soon discovered) that meters the water usage so it doesn't recharge the resin prematurely.
It arrived in pieces...lots of pieces. However, the instuctions were very clear. Upon reflection, it was actually pretty easy to assemble and could be done without the directions. I had it installed and running in about two hours. Since I was working on the plumbing at that point, I also replaced the incoming plumbing after the water meter, and added several valves and a set of super filters that absorb chlorine and viruses and other garbage.
I have never been happier with a major purchase like this. The people at Ohio Pure Water were very friendly and will help in any way they can. If you need a softener, skip the big box stores and go to them, you won't be disappointed.
One of the things that I liked about "This Old Crack House" was that Mr. & Mrs. C had a water softener installed, and that it was still there when I took possession of the house.
You see, the water in Fairborn is crap. Sure, it is chlorinated and filtered and all that, but it is still nasty. The smell of chlorine is overwhelming at times. There is so much lime in the water it is literally hard as a rock...any wonder one of the biggest industries in town is a cement plant?
Years ago, my father installed a whole-house water filter. This is a polyester wound cartridge held in a clear container and all the water for the house runs through it. The cartridge is supposed to be good for six months of filtration. Uh...yeah, right. In a month the cartridge is completely black.
Anyhow, I was happy that I now had a water softener! Showers were so much better, laundry so much cleaner. My water did not smell of chlorine anymore. Yippee!
Then one day I awoke like normal and went and turned on the shower. Nothing came out of the tap. I tried the sink, and again, nothing. I thought that I might have forgotten the water bill and they shut me off! Crap! I rushed to the basement stairs and stopped dead...I heard water running. I went down in to the basement and was treated to a flood of biblical proportion. Part of my basement was about two inches deep in water.
Thanks to the uneven floor in my basement, not everything was flooded. The furnace and water heater are situated on concrete pads, so they were high and dry. But, the water softener was definitely the culprit as water was gushing out from the salt chamber. I bypassed the softener to return water to the house and checked it out more carefully. I could not see any obvious reason as to why the softener would suddenly leak the hell over my basement.
The water drained away slowly, the ancient floor drain needing a good roto-rooting. I was late for work, so I left it to drain away all day and went to work.
Now I was disappointed. I had no water softener. Now I was subject to the crap water that everyone else has to deal with. This led me to wonder about how long my water heater would last...every time it heated or filled, you can hear large chunks of limescale hitting the sides of the tank. (Yes, a new water heater is in my future...)
The next weekend I dismantled the poor water softener. Then I discovered the reason: the side of the resin tank, the fiberglass reinforced tank, had ruptured. I was able to guess that the reason this happened is that the realtor, when the house was first put on the market, had hired a firm to winterize the house...and they did not drain the water softener. There was a big gash in the fiberglass where the water had frozen and weakend the tank, and the standard water pressure had finally gotten to it and split it the rest of the way. Needless to say, I was not happy, but there was nothing I could do. It was a Kenmore softener, so I got online and priced out a new tank, which was still available, and the resin to go in it. The price was about 3/4 that of a new, fancier softener. I decided to wait and suffer.
When tax time rolled around, I got my refund and set about looking for a new softener. I wasn't convinced that a new Kenmore or GE or other brand from a big box store was for me. The reviews were mediocre for most of them. Then I stumbled across a number of online stores that allowed you to "roll your own" water softener.
The place I chose to buy from was Ohio Pure Water Co. They had the most comprehensive website and I was duly impressed. They also had great prices. I ordered a 32,000 grain kit, along with several upgrades and a fancy-schmancy Fleck valve (the Cadillac of softener valves, I soon discovered) that meters the water usage so it doesn't recharge the resin prematurely.
It arrived in pieces...lots of pieces. However, the instuctions were very clear. Upon reflection, it was actually pretty easy to assemble and could be done without the directions. I had it installed and running in about two hours. Since I was working on the plumbing at that point, I also replaced the incoming plumbing after the water meter, and added several valves and a set of super filters that absorb chlorine and viruses and other garbage.
I have never been happier with a major purchase like this. The people at Ohio Pure Water were very friendly and will help in any way they can. If you need a softener, skip the big box stores and go to them, you won't be disappointed.
All told, I spent about $800 to make sure my water is a clean as possible. It was very much worth it. After seeing the filter at my parent's house turn black in short order, and a major Air Force base being extremely close to the well fields for our town, I wasn't willing to take any chances.
I still drink bottled water.
Please visit http://www.ohiopurewaterco.com/
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