Hard, soft or what?

Ok, you dirty-minded people, I'm talking about the water in Ajijic village. Anyone know?

I was thinking - how do you like your eggs?

I have a water softener so assume it is hard.

Me too, I have a water softener.

It's hard.

Canada_Mike wrote:Ok, you dirty-minded people, I'm talking about the water in Ajijic village. Anyone know?

My spouse won't abide a water softener, so I can tell you the water is harder than any I've encountered ANYWHERE.
I'm in Centro Ajijic. The white deposit on the teapot has to be removed with a vinegar soak on a regular basis. Other than that, I have a whole house water purification system, but that doesn't effect the hardness of the water.

Its all well water so its loaded with minerals and hard as Hell.

SunFan

Isn’t garrafon water supposed to be reverse osmosis processed? Doesn’t that get rid of water hardness?

Oh and the water here is typically very high pH - 7.6 to 7.8 at my house.

SunFan

The water you buy in most garafones is just the same as if you had a couple of filters and a UV light installed at your house, which is the most convenient, trouble-free, and economical arrangement. Even if you are renting, you can mount such a system on a board, connect it to any convenient outlet and faucet, and fill a pitcher from it at your convenience. You can then take it with you when you move.

This is a good question that interests me...

People here are saying the water is "hard" because it has a high mineral content.  I always thought water was classified as "hard" when the dissolved calcium content was high.  Calcium would normally come from local limestone/chalk deposits.  High pH (>7.0) = high alkaline.  But with this region being volcanic in nature where does the calcium get dissolved into semi-potable water system?

I've tried to research this without success.  Has anyone ever done a water analysis.  Does Simapa publish water analysis?

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/hardness.html

"Hard water" may contain several minerals in solution; not just calcium. Most are salts of various substances, and evaporation leaves the minerals behind as the water 'dries' and returns to the atmosphere. The result is the buildup of 'minerals'.

Collecting rain water would be a way of having “soft water”

Thanks, all. Guess I'll have to de-lime my espresso machine more regularly.

RVGRINGO wrote:The water you buy in most garafones  is just the same as if you had a couple of filters and a UV light installed at your house, which is the most convenient, trouble-free, and economical arrangement. Even if you are renting, you can mount such a system on a board, connect it to any convenient  outlet and faucet, and fill a pitcher from it at your convenience.  You can then take it with you when you move.

Does this work with a gravity system or is pressurization required?
Asking for a friend....

It does work with just gravity but it takes a little more patience. I installed the water purification system before I put in a small "IGOTO" 1/3 HP booster pump coming out of the tinaco. Everything works better. Those little pumps are all you need and they are very reasonable in price... and also portable if you are renting.

Thanks!

I was in the dishwasher business for 26 years. So, here are my thoughts.

Hard water is water that contains mineral salts like calcium, magnesium, boron, etc. You MUST install a water SOFTENER to neutralize these minerals in the water. Water with these salts dissolved in them run anywhere between 7.2 to 8 on the PH scale (basic instead of acid).

Water purification systems purify the water BUT do not SOFTEN the water.  Triple osmosis systems are the best in this regard.

So, you need BOTH systems to produce the quality water that you want to drink, and eliminate the white scale in your teapot at your hacienda.

RoyD

Personally, I think reverse osmosis systems are overkill, and they are very expensive to buy and to operate. The house we recently bought has such a system, but we have bypassed it for that reason. We do have a water softener, but since the area converted from wells to 'surface water systems', even that does not seem necessary. It tastes just fine and we have no buildup on anything, including glass shower doors, which we wipe down after use.

I guess I am lucky. My reverse osmosis systems have run very well and when I have them checked each year or so and or change a filter, everything has been working great.

RVGRINGO wrote:We do have a water softener, but since the area converted from wells to 'surface water systems', even that does not seem necessary.

"surface water system"?

Can you tell me more? I was of the impression everyone used well water at Lakeside. Is this something new?

TIA

SunFan

RVGRINGO is now living in Texas.

SunFan wrote:

RVGRINGO wrote:We do have a water softener, but since the area converted from wells to 'surface water systems', even that does not seem necessary.

"surface water system"?

Can you tell me more? I was of the impression everyone used well water at Lakeside.

SunFan

You are correct!

Yes, this area of the Rio Grande Valley grossly over-consumed water and just drilled wells deeper and deeper, depleting the aquifers to a shocking degree.  Twenty years ago, the water was horrible and people filled jugs at those 'Windmill' water stations seen on the corners everywhere. Now, you seldom see one in use, as resevoirs, piped systems and increased water treatment plants have been developed.  Now, we are happy with the water quality, and find no reason to treat it further in the home.
I mention this, as the same situation of deep well aquifer depletion seems to be reaching a critical stage on the north shore of Lake Chapala. Surface water systems of resevoirs, larger cisterns, and even the lake; all coupled with modern water treatment plants, could probably improve matters greatly. One day, probably too late, it will become a critical situation.....Soon, I think.

[Personally, I think reverse osmosis systems are overkill, and they are very expensive to buy and to operate. The house we recently bought has such a system, but we have bypassed it for that reason. We do have a water softener, but since the area converted from wells to 'surface water systems', even that does not seem necessary. It tastes just fine and we have no buildup on anything, including glass shower doors, which we wipe down after use.

RVGRINGO
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Reverse Osmosis systems remove 99% of contaminates (nothing is 100%) that are in the water. This includes, fertilizer runoff that gets into the aquafer, hormones, insecticides, pesticides, and other miscellaneous junk that is in the water that might not be healthy for you. When it comes to anything going into my body, there is no such thing as overkill.