On Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:54:37 -0800 (PST), Nancy2
> wrote:

>On Jan 10, 1:51*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
>> I'm watching Ask This Old House, and they're replacing
>> a water softener. *Actually, they're using the old tank
>> but replacing the head and the resin beads. *As they were
>> dumping out the old beads, there was all this black muck
>> at the bottom of the tank. *They didn't comment on that.
>> I'd hate to think of my drinking water passing through
>> that crap.
>>
>> When I was a kid, a friend of mine across the street
>> had a water softener at his house. *I always thought
>> the water tasted terrible over there. *Borderline
>> undrinkable.
>
>You're not supposed to drink soft water - usually, the setup excludes
>the kitchen/cold water from the soft water system. Soft water is best
>for laundry, bathing, washing hair, etc. Drinking it is not the
>recommended usage -

Horsepucky. Water softeners do not add salt to water, in fact if
there is salt normally present in ones domestic water (common with
private wells) the softener will remove that salt too same time as
other hardness elements are removed. That water softeners add salt to
water is pure myth and a big pack of lies... the only time a water
softener can add salt is if it is malfunctioning, usually due to one
not performing periodic maintenence or it was never properly installed
to begin with, which is common with DIYers, who among other things
omit the flow check valves. The brine is used only during each
periodic cycle to wash the pellets of minerals and then is flushed out
as grey water... anyone who claims their water softener puts salt in
their water then so does their waste water enter their drinking water.
No brine enters the house plumbing. Only the water at hose bibs is
not softened (or otherwise treated/filtered), it's stupid to soften
water one will squirt on the ground to water plants same as it is to
waste ones filtering capacities treating water for say sediment/odors
that goes back onto the ground. Although some auto fanatics do have
an outside hose bib they use to wash their car to prevent spotting...
I bet Jay Leno uses sotened water for his cars first, before his
wife's baths.

>I never use anything but kitchen/cold in my
>cooking, either. I have to have a separate softener because the water
>in my area is so hard.
>

If you have hard water and not softening your kitchen cold water what
makes you think that water isn't just as hard. Water softeners do not
add anthing, they only take away... only the pinheaded ignoranuses
believe water softeners add salt.

Anyone in a hard water area and is using a hot water heater and is
heating their home with a hot water system and is not using a water
softener is very likely using twice as much fuel (and probably more)
to heat and will have extra repair bills due to mineral build up
inside all parts containing water.

Water softeners save more on cleaning products alone than they cost to
install and operate... not to mention labor and time saved.