water/water softener question (Seattle, Bellevue: house, water heater, living in)

[mojodog38]

we are thinking of relocating to seattle or bellevue area. right now we live in arizona where the water is really hard. we have a water softener in our home. how is the water in washington? for instance, if we didn't have a water softener in our home right now, everything gets corroded very quickly. my husband has mild excema and i have two little kids who get dry skin occasionally, so a water softener is a must have! we got our water tested, and the guy told us our water in the small town we live in is some of the worst he's seen.
will we need a water softener in washington? also, we have an r/o system for our drinking water. will we need one of those in WA as well, or is the tap water drinkable? in az, if you dont' have an r/o, you don't drink the tap. you can actually see dirt in the water. we don't use tap water to cook either. everything comes from the r/o. thanks for any info!

[allforcats]

"will we need a water softener in washington?"
No.
This is the northern source of water, so it's fresh and clean and healthful from rain and snowmelt. You can soften it if you want to, but then it would be so soft it probably would just go limp and fall down everywhere.


"also, we have an r/o system for our drinking water. will we need one of those in WA as well"
I have no idea what an "r/o" is, meaning I've never heard of it here, meaning that whatever it does isn't done here.


"is the tap water drinkable?"
Seattle and Bellevue are sophisticated cities with sophisticated services. Seattle/Bellevue water is classed as tops in the nation along with that of New York City. No gadgets needed. Just drink and bathe, cook, toss it around willy-nilly.


Are you aware of the climate here in western Washington? "Dry skin" is not something you're likely to experience very often here...


P.S. Since Google is our friend, I Googled. Found this interesting news report with a delightful title: "City tasters make sure our tap water tastes like, well, nothing."
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/254968_water09.asp (broken link)

[Ira500]

Seattle water is soft and no reverse osmosis needed. Some people use brita filters thinking it improves the taste, but area water here is mostly considered very good.

[jenlion]

Originally Posted by allforcats

Are you aware of the climate here in western Washington? "Dry skin" is not something you're likely to experience very often here...

Haha, cats. My son has eczema, it's not related to climate!! And my skin gets dry here in winter, just like it does anywhere else you have indoor heating.

That said, it's not as bad here as other places I've lived, with lower humidity to begin with.

I'll second cats and Ira that the water is plenty soft here, and you won't need r/o at all. We drink and cook from the tap, no problem. Every so often the taste or smell will vary, just like anywhere else, so if you're sensitive to that it's nice to have a filter. But it's hardly required.

[mojodog38]

thank you for the info. i really appreciate it. i guess i won't be needing our water softener, so that is a big plus. the r/o doesn't sound needed either. cats, the r/o is reverse osmosis. basically, it's a water filtering system. but from the sounds of it, the drinking water is great there. and yes, i do know how the climate is up there, but for those that have ecsema, it's not always b/c of the water and climate. sometimes those born with it have flare ups no matter what we do. but, here in AZ, not having a water softener just makes it that much harder to control. sounds like WA will help though. in AZ, if you don't have a water softener, the water is so hard and disguisting that it will actually corrode the washing machine, water heater, pipes, etc. and if you don't have an r/o, you can see a ring of dirt in the pot that you just boiled water in for pasta. i am originally from the midwest, where we could drink the water out of the basement sink if we wanted to. it was never an issue until we moved to AZ. thanks for all the help

[jinj]

The city water here is horrible, it really does make me feel ill, the smell and taste of chlorine is awful.

I have a well and use a softener and whole house filter, to get rid of the iron in the water.
I used to have skin problems when living in the city, I don't have them anymore.

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by jinj

The city water here is horrible

Where is your "here"?

[scirocco22]

News Release:New Report Finds Seattle’s Tap Water is the 'Gold Standard' (http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsdetail.asp?ID=8442&dept=40 - broken link)

[jenlion]

Nice link! Very good to know!

[mojodog38]

that was a good link! thanks