Hard water

Have you installed filters going in and out? We still find dirt and sal but much less. We cleaned our cistern from all the sludge and plan to do it every other year or more frequently.

We had a very good friend in the 1980's who installed AC and heating for a major US corporation. He took pity on our on our little So Calif beach house that was sourcing it's water from artesian wells, another story entirely.

Our water was HARD, but admittedly, not as hard as here. He installed a magnet on the line feeding our house. It was a method not necessarily accepted, but one that ACCO had accepted as making their installations better.

After about 10 years, the plastic casing on the magnet started to break down and we actively saw a deterioration in our water and how it affected our lives.

It's something that we now, thanks to your heads up, are going to look into again. Thank You!!!

Just curious what others who live here might be doing about "hard" water that comes from the city. Mineral builds up everywhere and we use vinegar to periodically clean things like our shower heads. However, we recently had a problem with our washing machine that appears to be related to mineral build up in internal parts. I know there are systems for treating water and I am just curious what experience some of you might have with specific equipment, installers, etc.

Gracias adelantado!

When I lived in St. Croix it was exactly the opposite. Like most homes on the island, our cistern was used to capture rainwater, and that was all the water we had. Soap went a long way because rainwater is notoriously soft. Perhaps if you also captured rainwater in your cistern the effects of mineral buildup would be greatly reduced.

In the RV we had a two stage filter, one a 5 micron charcoal filter the second, a .5 micron one. The water was safe to drink, but we had real issues with the pets drinking it here. The cat had numerous urinary tract infections, different drugs, we finally realized that it was likely the water here. Once we switched him to bottled water, there was never a problem. Two years later, (oh how we forget) one of the dogs did the same thing, and it was confirmed that she had stones in her bladder. We decided to try not feeding her the special diet, and switched everyone to bottled water. Amazing, no problems since then, and it's been over 3 years.

At one time we thought about a filtration system for the house, but remembered the high mineral content in the water and decided we would be money and health ahead for ALL of us to drink the bottled, RO water.

If you live here and are drinking filter water instead of RO water, we seriously suggest that you rethink your decision.

I’m surprised nobody is mentioning installing a water softener. They remove minerals (calcium, magnesium, etc.). I’ve personally seen a water softener that was installed in a 6-unit condo complex on La Ropa.

I have always used a water softener in my homes here in the U.S. I have often thought that if I was to buy a property there, I would definitely want one installed. Doesn’t anybody know of a plumber or business that installs those systems?

If not...maybe a great business opportunity?

We have been living at Cerro del Vigia for the last 12 years. The first few years that we lived here we had many problems with clogged water heaters, dishwasher, washing machine, broken flexible pipes connected to sink and toilet faucets and filters so clogged up with calcium particles that I had to remove the filters from the housings with a pair of grips.

Having been a Construction professional for many years I was acquainted with salt
treatment systems, but I was never impressed by their efficiency. These systems are now banned or restricted for use in California due to the amount of salt being discharged into sewer systems in the state. So, I would not advise going in that direction to compromise our already fragile sewer system in the area.

For the last 10 years I have been using the NuvoH20 water softener system, which is only available from the USA. I use two cartridges per year, which contains a citric acid media that softens the water by a process called chelation. I would say it has been about 95% effective on improving our house systems and eliminating clogging.
We have been very happy with it and it has also improved streaking on the glassware.

To support this system we have installed a 25 micron poly spun primary filter, to filter the water from the street supply. The water then passes though a water pressure regulator before it enters the media cartridge. It is now ready to pass through the house plumbing system. We have a Mexican made ASSAM ultraviolet water purifier that you can buy locally, that we use for the ice maker and washing the veggies. We also use a primary sediment poly spun filter and a charcoal filter. It is important to remember charcoal filters are dangerous if not used properly. Read The instructions well before use.

If you use this system make sure you install the cartridge housing system in a position that is below the temperature of 90 degrees ( this is applicable for all plastic filter housings) and out of the sun otherwise it could crack the plastic housing. These units are not cheap to buy but if you look after them they should last a long time as mine is now 10 years old and still in good shape.

Yes I agree with the comments from other writers that rain water collection is the way to go. I have experience with these systems in Australia and Canada. You will need a big commercial charcoal system to help remove some of the bird crap contamination on your roof.----and yet another expense!