Florida Home Buyers Guide to Water Treatment Considerations

Water Softeners and Water Filtration Systems For Your Home

In the market for a new home? While you’re checking off all the boxes on your must-have list don’t forget to include water softener and water filtration systems as a critical part of your homebuying decision.

You’ve found ‘the one’ and it’s time for the inspection where you’ll learn more about the property, the condition of the appliances, and what responsibilities you’ll be taking on when you purchase the home. While a typical home inspection is quite thorough, water testing is not generally part of the process. Some states do not require any analysis of the water quality in a real estate transaction and others only require the bare minimum when testing from a well.

Having your potential new home’s water tested before you make the purchase is highly beneficial and you should arrange to have All Florida Soft Water complete an assessment as part of your home’s inspection phase. You’ll learn how hard the water is, the potential for corrosion affecting fixtures and appliances, if there is any iron present, and if there are any other contaminants in your water.

Benefits of Knowing Your Water Quality Ahead Before Purchasing Your New Home

Knowing what’s in your water will help you determine the next steps in deciding to add water treatment equipment to your new home or evaluate an existing system to ensure it’s working properly. Use this knowledge to your advantage at the negotiating table. You can request the current homeowners make upgrades, remedy any situation that could negatively impact your health, or you could request a price reduction to help cover the costs.

During the home inspection phase, you’ll want to learn as much as you can about potential fixes and costs related to your home so you don’t face unexpected expenses after you’ve moved in. Water quality and equipment should definitely be a part of those considerations.

Factors That Affect a Home’s Water Quality

There are several variables that impact a home’s water quality. If there is a private well on property, the condition of the water is completely the homeowner’s responsibility since it does not pass through any filtering from the city plant. Wells must be thoroughly maintained, or you may be inviting a wide range of contaminants to enter your water supply through cracks or other openings. This includes everything from pests and rodents to harmful bacteria and pollutants.

If the home uses municipal water, it will pass through rigorous filtering at the city’s water plant. Even with the city’s filtering, your water can collect a variety of contaminants while traveling to your home. This could include lead from any old plumbing infrastructure used throughout the town. City filtering only filters out issues that could affect the health and safety of their residents so hard water minerals are not removed by the city. While hard water minerals can’t harm you or your family, they can damage some of those new water-using appliances you plan to purchase for your new home and shorten their lifespan.

The geographic region of your new home also impacts what’s in your water. Some regions have more hardness while others may contain higher levels of contaminants like lead, manganese or iron. Homes near industrial areas and airports could also contain dangerous PFOA chemicals that get into wells or city water pipes.

The age of the home, as well as the age and condition of any existing equipment can also play a role in a home’s water quality – and the potential costs of improving it. If your new future home has existing equipment be sure to check the condition to test that is running efficiently and understand if the previous homeowners had been keeping it properly maintained. It is also good to know how much life is left before you may need to replace it.

Financial Benefits of Water Treatment Equipment

Having to install water treatment equipment such as a water softener, water filtration system or a reverse osmosis system does require an initial investment but overtime can actually save you money!

Soft water prolongs the life of your appliances like the dishwasher, water heater, and washing machine, by reducing scale build-up. You will also save on cleaning products and detergents because the hardness in water inhibits the efficacy of soaps and cleansers. With soft water you will be able to use less products. Eliminating hardness is also good for your clothing and will keep your fabrics in good condition longer.

When you install a drinking water system like reverse osmosis, you’ll likely never need to buy bottled water for the home again! With the average cost around $1.50 a bottle, the expense of drinking bottled water as your home’s drinking water really adds up. Using an RO, you’ll have the cleanest drinking water right on tap in your kitchen. It eliminates the unnecessary expense of bottles and is much better for the environment.

It’s Never Too Late!

What if you’re already in your new home and you discover the water is causing faucet corrosion, dry hair, your laundry isn’t soft, and you’re barely getting any bubbles with your hand soap and dish soap? Let All Florida Soft Water come and give you a free water test. Analyze your home improvement budget and consider prioritizing water quality will seriously make every day better. After all, quality water isn’t just a necessary utility, it’s something that can save you money and directly impacts the happiness and health of you and your family.

Whether you own your own home or are in the middle of the homebuying process, let one of the experts at All Florida Soft Water test, analyze, and provide the best solution for your home and your budget. Give us a call or send a quick message online today!