Am I starting off right?

[MichaelD]

Is there a noob 101 sticky somewhere? I could use that.

Just purchased a house last month and the water here is funny-tasting, residue-leaving, city water. Home was built in 1976 so plumbing is older code.

Here are some of my questions. Am I on the right track?

The city published this: how do I read it or what should I care about? How good/bad is this?
http://www.garlandwater.com/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=29008

Do I need to do my own test? How do I do that? Seems like KAR is gone...

Whole home systems: why leave out kitchen sink cold as I see some mention? Is that for a separate under sink filter?

I understand there are particle pre-filters, softeners, salt tanks, and filters. Is that right? What I need depends on the water coming in, yes?

How do I find the incoming water POE? (Look at me picking up the lingo!)

Tanks go in the garage or outside? Pros and cons?

How do I find a drain connection point? This concerns me.

A door to door salesman gave me a pitch and a quote for $9,000 + 5 years of "free" soap. I said no of course. He then dropped the price in half and doubled the soap. That confirmed it was a bad deal if their margins are that high.

What are the brands I should avoid? Which ones should I consider and where can I buy them?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Reach4]

The city published this: how do I read it or what should I care about? How good/bad is this?
http://www.garlandwater.com/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=29008

As reports go, this is one of the best from a city. Best I remember seeing. As far as water goes, I am not sure. Nothing big jumps out at me, but chromium and vanadium.... makes me think that further research would be good.

You have hardness of 159 - 238 ppm which would be up to 14 grains of hardness. So you should have a softener.

Some would put a backwashing catalytic carbon for chloramine removal and more before the softener, and I think that may be a good idea. The levels of chloromine would be lower the farther you are from the water treatment plant. For many of the numbers in the report, they did not list an MCL or secondary MCL. You might look those up. However that backwashing filter will also reduce other things besides chloromine.

Should you have a reverse osmosis filter after the softener for drinking water? I don't know.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Afsaneh Khosravi]

...

 

[Reach4]

I leave in chandler

Afsaneh, I presume that you could not figure out how to post to a new thread. It can be confusing. Click Forums in the upper left, and select the appropriate forum.
Then click "Post New Thread" (blue button) on the right above the existing threads and below the search box.

Also I suggest that you edit your other 3 posts to be just the word delete, or "delete, ignore". Trying to discuss your proposed Chandler system on the other threads would just make them confusing.

 

[ditttohead]

The city published this: how do I read it or what should I care about? How good/bad is this?
http://www.garlandwater.com/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=29008 All looks normal

Do I need to do my own test? How do I do that? Seems like KAR is gone... Not needed, the city does extensive and regular testing

Whole home systems: why leave out kitchen sink cold as I see some mention? Is that for a separate under sink filter? Dont skip the kitchen sink, this is the thoughts from the 70's

I understand there are particle pre-filters, softeners, salt tanks, and filters. Is that right? What I need depends on the water coming in, yes? My recommendation would be a catalytic carbon tank and softener

How do I find the incoming water POE? (Look at me picking up the lingo!) You have to search for it. if you are in a freeze area the water main would likely be underground. A small acees cover is usually covering it. Otherwise it could be coming up inside the garage, even in the late 70's this was not too common. Just keep looking, you should find something.

Tanks go in the garage or outside? Pros and cons? In the garage if possible. Just like a car, it will simply last longer if it kept inside.

How do I find a drain connection point? This concerns me. Do you have a laundry? Look for a simple connection point. Do you have a raised foundation?

A door to door salesman gave me a pitch and a quote for $9,000 + 5 years of "free" soap. I said no of course. He then dropped the price in half and doubled the soap. That confirmed it was a bad deal if their margins are that high.

What are the brands I should avoid? Which ones should I consider and where can I buy them? Many door to door guys are salesman in the old sense. Avoid them. Many local companies will give you a fair and acceptable price. I work with many companies, I could email you some of them if you needed someone that is honest.

 

[MichaelD]

Ditto and Reach,

Thank you both for the help. This really answers many questions and gets me started. I'm sure I'll have more eventually, but I can probably discover many answers with more reading here on the forum. Thanks!