The Taste Of Softened Water: How To Adjust
If you have been drinking well water or hard city water most of your life, you might be concerned about how water softeners affect the taste of your water. It will definitely taste different at first. Some people cannot taste a difference at all. For those with more sensitive or refined palates and taste buds, you will have the most difficulty with softened water. Here is how to adjust.
Before Installing a Water Softener
Before you buy and install a water softener, gather up several gallons of your current tap water. You are familiar with its taste, no matter how unsavory it may be to others. Have about two gallons per day, for two weeks put aside. (This is about twenty-eight gallons of tap water.) Put it wherever you can store it for now.
After Installing the Water Softener and Waiting at Least Two Softening Cycles
A water softener has to go through a softening cycle before the softened water is ready. Wait until two cycles have completed. Usually, the cycles are completed at night, after you are asleep because that is when all of your taps are not in use. Now, your softened water is ready for you to begin your transition and adjustment period.
Take One Glass of Softened Water and One Glass of Your Old Tap
Take one glass each of the tap water you saved and the softened water. Drink the glass of softened water first. Drink it all. If your sense of taste detects a distinct salty taste, your tongue can detect "flavors" of water. Next, wait a few minutes before you drink the entire glass of tap. Almost immediately you will taste the difference. Your old tap water may be more mineral-y, smell of chlorine from the water treatment plant, or even stink and taste of rotten eggs because it comes from a well.
Now that you can definitely taste the difference between the two types of water, begin diluting your saved tap water in increments. Start with 3/4 glass of old tap and 1/4 softened water. Do this for one week. Then make your glasses of water 50/50 for a week, and then 75/25 softened water with a little tap for a week. Finally, you should almost be out of old tap water and your tongue is ready for softened water. After a week of drinking nothing but softened water, you will never want to go back to the old tap stuff again.
Contact a company like American Water Treatment to learn more.