More Than an Inconvenience
While the minerals in Urbana's water are not a health risk, they do impact your daily life. The high mineral content prevents soap and shampoo from lathering effectively, leaving a film on your skin and hair. This leads to:
- Dry, itchy skin and scalp conditions
- Brittle, dull-looking hair that is difficult to manage
- Soap scum residue that builds up quickly on shower doors and fixtures
For families, even simple tasks like mixing baby formula involve adding these excess minerals to every bottle.
The Right Filtration for Urbana's Water
At 21 GPG, basic pitcher or faucet filters are completely overwhelmed. To protect your home and improve your quality of life, a robust solution is necessary.
- Best Solution: A whole-house water softener combined with an under-sink reverse osmosis (RO) system for drinking water. The softener removes the minerals that damage appliances, while the RO system provides purified water for cooking and drinking.
- Salt-Free Alternative: For those who wish to avoid salt, a salt-free water conditioner can prevent scale buildup but will not provide the other benefits of soft water (like better lathering).
A whole-house softener (around $1,500 installed) pays for itself in just 6.7 years by saving you an estimated $225 per year in energy, detergents, and premature appliance replacements. This doesn't even account for the $600-$900 the average family spends on bottled water, an expense an RO system eliminates entirely.