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Drinking water that has gone through a water softener

WinniWoman

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So adjusting to our temporary life at the rental home. I drink a lot of water and of course we use water to cook and make tea and coffee.

The landlord has a water softener and just put the stuff in it before we moved in. I absolutely hate the way it feels when we shower- like we never get the soap off our skin.

But what concerns me is I drink a lot of water during the day and it has a bit of that salt or off taste going on. I am thinking this is not healthy and bad for blood pressure, which my husband has high blood pressure already.

At our former home we also had well water but no softener. This retained all the good minerals in the water and it was healthy to drink.

Here besides adding the salt, the minerals have been removed with the softener. I really do not want to spend money on bottled water. I am not sure what to do.

Am I right that it is bad to drink softened water? Suggestions? Is there some kind of inexpensive filter- like in a pitcher I could use?
 

buzglyd

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There is nothing wrong with the water. The salt is used to clean the filter.

People always think they’re not getting the soap off their skin. That’s what your skin feels like when it’s smooth and doesn’t have a bunch of calcium sticking to it from hard water.

I live in San Diego where our water which comes from the Colorado river is really hard. I’ve used soft water for 25 years and can still do push ups like a prisoner. You’ll be fine.
 

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+1 We live in an area of California where the water is very hard, and everyone has a water softener. You will get used to it. BTW - the off taste is probably the chlorine treated city water, and not the water softener.
 

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sadly a regular charcoal filter (like whats in most fridges and cartridge pitcher type filters) wont remove the added sodium from softened water. youd need a more specialized one to do that. and yes there are indeed higher levels of sodium in softened water.

is there a spigot BEFORE the water softener you could use to fill bottles/etc? that might be a much easier solution for your drinking water if not mildly inconvenient. wont do much for the shower issue though.
 

WinniWoman

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+1 We live in an area of California where the water is very hard, and everyone has a water softener. You will get used to it. BTW - the off taste is probably the chlorine treated city water, and not the water softener.


This is a well. Rural area.
 

WinniWoman

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I can tolerate the shower but it’s the consuming of the water that bothers me.
 

WinniWoman

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sadly a regular charcoal filter (like whats in most fridges and cartridge pitcher type filters) wont remove the added sodium from softened water. youd need a more specialized one to do that. and yes there are indeed higher levels of sodium in softened water.

is there a spigot BEFORE the water softener you could use to fill bottles/etc? that might be a much easier solution for your drinking water if not mildly inconvenient. wont do much for the shower issue though.

I guess we can look in the basement to see if there is a spigot. Too bad they didn’t bypass the kitchen tap when they installed the softener.
 

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Get yourself a Britta filter system.
It's a pitcher with a special top you put water in and it filters and fills the pitcher.
Just keep adding water as needed. Keeping cold in the refrigerator.
You'll love it.
Dave
 

Sandy VDH

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I have a RO system, so that is filtered out and the water tastes great. Otherwise the water is too hard around here.
 

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I can tolerate the shower but it’s the consuming of the water that bothers me.
A water delivery service would be a cost effective answer to your concerns. Use the water cooler water for drinking and cooking and the softened water for everything else.
 

lynne

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We also have a water softener here in Hawaii. We are on private water which is very hard and can negatively affect the wear and tear on our fixtures. If you are really concerned, you should be able to set the hardness level to a position that eliminates the effects of the water softener unit.
 

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I guess we can look in the basement to see if there is a spigot. Too bad they didn’t bypass the kitchen tap when they installed the softener.
In my area the water softener installation includes a bypass key. For my softener it's a big metal key behind the control panel. Turned one way the water goes into the softener and then into the house plumbing. Turned the other way the water softener is bypassed and unfiltered/softened water goes into the house plumbing. I use it to bypass the softener when I water the lawn to save on salt. Others also use it when filling seasonal pools.
 

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In our house setup, the water softener only treats the water going to the water heater. The cold water is just the city's regular treated water. It seems a good solution. You'll get used to the feeling of clean skin in the shower, and using about half the soap you used to.
 

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Drinking soft water won’t hurt you or anyone else.

There is no way on earth soft water will cause high blood pressure. You are not drinking excess sodium. High blood pressure is caused by blubber, not filtered water.
 

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Drinking soft water won’t hurt you or anyone else.

There is no way on earth soft water will cause high blood pressure. You are not drinking excess sodium. High blood pressure is caused by blubber, not filtered water.
Depending in how water is softened. Systems like Culligan add salt to make water soft. These systems do not truly filter water.

If someone already has high blood pressure, consumption of sodium will cause blood pressure to go higher. High blood pressure is not caused by blubber. It is the result of blood vessels hardening, due to age and is also often hereditary.
 

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Drinking soft water won’t hurt you or anyone else.

There is no way on earth soft water will cause high blood pressure. You are not drinking excess sodium. High blood pressure is caused by blubber, not filtered water.
Depending in how water is softened. Systems like Culligan add salt to make water soft. These systems do not truly filter water.

If someone already has high blood pressure, consumption of sodium will cause blood pressure to go higher. High blood pressure is not caused by blubber. It is the result of blood vessels hardening, due to age and is also often hereditary.
Soft water systems use salt (nacl) to treat the system, but sodium(na) is in fact passed into the water that comes out. Sodium can raise blood pressure and should be avoided by those with hypertension. Check with your doctor.

If concerned about sodium, you should get a reverse osmosis system for your drinking water in your kitchen. It will remove 90-95% of the sodium.
 

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high sodium intake is most certainly a cause of high blood pressure and other less than savory medical conditions.

now one could argue that the amount you are getting in your drinking water that passes thru a softener is not much more than say a few extra shakes of a salt shaker on your dinner etc...but if the OP claims the water actually TASTES salty...that certainly qualifies to me anyway as a significantly larger amount than one would expect to consume in tap water as it definitely did not leave the treatment plant like that.
 

chellej

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Years ago the town I grew up in changed their processing system to "soften" the water. My mom had High blood pressure and the added salt made her blood pressure soar so high it broke the blood vessels in her eyes. My sil was an ER nurse and noticed and got her to the ER. They tested the water and it was determined her increase BP was from the city water. After that my folks only drank bottled water.
 

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Your water should not taste salty with a water softener. Being it does something is not working properly with the system. It should be checked out by a professional.
 

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Get it tested. Either you take a sample to a company that does. Or they can come out but most come out to sell you something

Then you will know exactly what’s in the water

Every home we owned has had only the hot side softened. Cold was always direct
 

WinniWoman

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Drinking soft water won’t hurt you or anyone else.

There is no way on earth soft water will cause high blood pressure. You are not drinking excess sodium. High blood pressure is caused by blubber, not filtered water.

If that were true about overweight people, how do you explain slender people with high blood pressure?
 

Patri

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Drinking soft water won’t hurt you or anyone else.
There is no way on earth soft water will cause high blood pressure. You are not drinking excess sodium. High blood pressure is caused by blubber, not filtered water.
What a horrible thing to say. What are your credentials to make that statement?
 

WVBaker

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We live in a remote area with well water and water softener and I for one, and perhaps the only one, don't like it.

As for high blood pressure, there are many factors that contribute to high blood pressure. Yes, a low sodium diet should be in place however, sodium is not a single cause.
 

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Every now and then I spend two or three days at my Son's house taking care of his dogs when he is out of town. I don't (probably irrationally) trust the water so I stop at Target and buy 3 gallon bottles of Ozarka to make my lemonade, coffee and to drink. I even give it to the dogs. Cost per gallon (at least I think it is a gallon) is something like $1.18. Whatever, I consider it money well spent...

George
 

normab

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Hi Mary Ann,

I feel bad for you reading these mixed responses. I was a chemist in my younger days and although I’m not an expert on these systems, I think there are different systems but if they are adding a salt, it’s probably releasing sodium as it removes other minerals through chelation. Sodium salts are pretty soluble which means it’s hard to separate them out to remove them.

I, like you I worry about excess sodium. It may or may not be a factor in any one individual’s HBP. (Many slender folks have HBP and they don’t all over consume sodium, and other people with low blood pressure eat a lot of salt).

I wish I could offer you a perfect solution but there isn’t one. When you’re renting it’s a bit difficult, so having water delivered may be your best bet to avoid excess sodium consumption.

Good Luck,

Norma
 
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