Cleaning out a washer

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

Allen...my water authority told me today we have pristine water..lol whatever they mean by that and I smell chlorine in my water often weuse a pur water filter system for drinking water.
 
water filters

I have a filter installed under my sink with its own faucet because it's like drinking clorox.  It currently has a Whirlpool brand carbon filter in it but they are marketed under several names.  Works WONDERS!  Then my fridge comes off that filter and has its own filter built into it so the water and Ice from the fridge taste as good as Evian water!   MIL finally got tired of buying bottled water and she too installed a filter on her sink as also my parents.

[this post was last edited: 5/21/2015-22:24]
 
Funny that this thread went off topic in the direction of water hardness as the curiosity struck me today to look and see if Lake Michigan water is really soft like I always heard it was... Turns out it's usually around 8 Grains per gallon which is on the bottom end of the scale for "hard" water. I've always heard that it was soft, but always wondered "then why do I still get mineral deposits on shower heads and faucets then".
Obviously it's not actually soft, just soft in comparison to well water which used to be very common place in the suburbs til the early 90s. Well water varies between 15-28 gpg around here.
 
If I remember correctly you can get whole-house water filtration units that are just like water softeners, except the fibreglass tank is filled with carbon media (or whatever is needed to clean out the "stuff" from your water). They often use the same control units, with some minor alterations (removal of brine injector, different "regeneration" controls) to make the suitable for use as a water-filter unit.

You can also install a water filter, than install a softener, or vice-versa, depending on how you want to clean the water out. Some might prefer to remove the salt added by the softener.

As John said, I think the key to keeping your machine clean is warm-hot washes, enough detergent and avoiding excessive softener usage.
 
It's O.K

It's not too far off topic!
Cleaning out the washer had to be done, and done the way I did it, no matter the cause.
At first I thought it was caused from just 15 years of use, then I thought it might be the P&G soap.
John mentioned hard water, and I'm glade he did, I didn't rule out that possibility, and made some inquiries.
I think this has caused some thought provoking about our water conditions and how our detergents and machines work.
I took for granted that my water was what the water Dept said it was. Everyone should keep in mind that whatever number they say it is.. That's probably the number taken at the source, not necessarily what's coming out of your tap. Conditions change depending on time of year, fluctuating, sources, drought conditions ect
I mentioned the quake, and what shook loose from the pipes last Aug. We we just another one tonight (only 4.1) so I'll wait a while before I drain out what ever is in my water heater LOL
 
Don't know the hardness of our water but we have an excessive amount of calcium in our city water. We get the pink rings in the toilets within a few days of cleaning them. Any residual water in the shower or tubs leaves a pink spot. The problems I have seen recently with people who have wells in our area is arsenic in their water. Being in the Granite state this is a natural occurrence. This is not a good thing in your water. People are having their water tested a lot because of this. One testing company stated that possibly the high level of arsenic is because of winter water in the well. This is because during the winter not a lot of water is used like in the summer for washing cars watering the garden and lawns topping off pools etc. During the winter the water sits for longer periods and accumulates more of the arsenic in it. So they suggest running a tap outside for hours to drain the water so it can be replace with fresher water until your usage goes up and then have the water tested again. So if you think you have problems with hard or soft water be happy you have water you can use without fear of death. Just to say the water delivery people like Poland Spring are doing a great business here.

Jon
 
We have a filter in the shower which takes the chlorine out. Which works for showers.The chlorine in the water dried my skin out tremendously.

On our refrigerator we have two filters. An external filter in a line before the refrigerator to take out cysts and chlorine. No chlorine coming out of that dispenser, but it still has that soap suds taste to it. We don't use this water for anything but washing and bathing. Even the dogs get bottled Spring Water.

Chicago has semi-hard water. I used to think nothing of it until I went to college in north central Louisiana. There the water is very soft, naturally. I didn't like it. When showering if felt like you could never rinse all the soap off of you. Everything that got wet felt slimy. Here in Texas our local water has 12 grains and is pretty hard, but all we get is calcium build up if we don't wash surfaces down enough.

I think we are going to send in some samples of our water for our own analysis. Any suggestions about how to do that? Has anyone here ever done that before?
 
Water Testing

Allen, Generally you buy a test and they send you a bottle with a pre-paid mailer to return it for testing. Basically the same as doing oil analysis. You can pick the test package you want often adding tests al a carte to get the ones you want/need. Expect about $100 for the base package and add to that for more tests.

I had a friend that used National Testing Laboratories to get a good water report for his serious home brewing obsession. They will tell you anything you need to know and aren't afraid to charge for it.
 
I have never had to deal with bad water up until now. I'm just wondering if our water is even safe, no matter what the local water department says. Funny thing though, I have not heard any of the neighbors complaining about water quality. I'm just wondering if it just could be me.
 
The water where I live is terrible. We do NOT have Cincinnati city water, but rather a municipal system that is nearly 90 years old. They are in the process of building a new water system that I think will be finished in less than a year. For the time being, I only drink bottled water, as what comes out of the faucet either smells like strong chlorine, dirty socks, or onions. I hope it will taste good when the new system is operating.
 
Back
Top