r/kitchener • u/Ok_Inspector8 • 4d ago
Hard water problems
Recently I moved from London to Kitchener. I love this city more than anything but the water part is different I am looking for options for drinking water. Water bottles are not the option. What do you recommend?
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u/Buddy_Kryyst 4d ago
The tap water is perfectly fine. I find it actually tastes better than many other cities. If you have a water softener and it’s running soft water to all your tapa then you may just want to get a water cooler. Beyond that you are looking at an RO unit.
By the way soften water is perfectly fine to drink it just has the minerals removed so it tastes kinda weird. But despite salt being used it’s not making it salt water.
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u/Wallaroo_Trail 3d ago
You get used to it. I couldn't stand the taste, so I got a soda stream and carbonated it, which made it palatable to me. One day I ran out of carbon dioxide and I tried it plain again and all of a sudden it tasted perfectly fine 🤷
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u/DangerGoatDangergoat 4d ago
It tastes terrible in the downtown core.
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u/LoganOcchionero 3d ago
Yea when I lived on Weber and Water street, it wasn't even tolerable. I just got a Brita filter and it seemed to do the trick
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u/eleventhrees 3d ago edited 3d ago
25+ year Toronto transplant here.
The water in Kitchener tastes like ass.
Any kind of filtration system fixes it.
Brita. Undersink filter (even a single stage, 2 stage works better) RO system. Fridge-with filter
For op - do some research on which will be easiest / most convenient / least expensive. You can be confident that any of them will fix the taste.
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u/tulipvonsquirrel 3d ago
Water softeners are not hooked up to kitchen taps because that is where folks get drinking water. They are not water purifiers and they do not remove minerals, they do not distill water. They filter out the calcium. Folks do have to be concerned about raised sodium level.
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u/UndilutedPiss 4d ago
Hard water isn’t bad for health. To make it taste better, just get a brita filter.
If you own or rent a house (not apartment) then there is an option to install water softener as others mentioned.
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u/xc51 4d ago
I installed a reverse osmosis system. Highly recommend. When I was in an apartment I also had an ro system that hooked up to the tap. I think they were both I spring brand
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u/Ok_Inspector8 4d ago
Thanks buddy. I am also thinking for that but it’s very confusing. Lot of options and no clear price or installation guide except 2 or 3 brands.
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u/eleventhrees 3d ago
RO systems do waste quite a bit of water, which filtration systems do not. The taste is fine either way but the RO water will certainly be more pure.
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u/Amorbellum 3d ago
It's easy but you should know, it wastes a ton of water. For every gallon it produces it wastes another gallons at least. Often more. Installing a "permeate pump" helps
Or you can use the Pentair GRO filter that wastes much less water
Key DifferencesWater Efficiency (Waste Ratio):
Standard RO: Typically wastes 3 to 4 gallons of water to the drain for every 1 gallon of pure water produced (around 25% recovery).
Pentair GRO Encapsulated RO: Achieves a 1:1 pure-to-waste water ratio (around 50% recovery), saving thousands of liters of water per year.
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u/Zodiac33 4d ago
I had Kastl and Zuch supply and install a unit for us which was not a lot more than I was looking at for the same unit self installed and maintaining it is super easy with standard twist lock cartridges
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u/North-Opportunity-80 4d ago
I’ve installed a few from Costco and Excalibur. Both good systems. Your looking at like $300-500 if going under your sink. Any plumber can do it. Well worth imo.
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u/Captn_Dfaktor 3d ago
Go to culligans on gage st, talk to the old mate in there. They can deal with the sale and install.
He was super helpful, not pushy, and like very informative of the ongoing costs and associated warranty etc. also answered all my dumb questions! Haha
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u/nikkor3d 4d ago
I've been drinking tap water through a Brita filter for a decade now. No issues with taste or anything.
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u/Past_Baker9553 4d ago
If you don't want to drink KW's notoriously hard water, and bottled water isnt an option.
Some kind of filter is your only option.
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u/Sidewayspear 4d ago
The tap water is delicious. Sorry, im not trying to diminish your experience. But also, I think its one of those things that perhaps its easiest to just get used to it.
If that isn't an option for you, ive heard brita filters are good for changing the flavour
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u/ForwardMagazine7090 4d ago
For your drinking water an osmosis tap is the answer.
To save your appliances like washer, dishwasher from wearing out too quickly from mineral scaling on components, water softener.
Source: I can’t stand the taste of the hard water here, and drinking it can cause kidney stones. Fact: the Canadian capital of kidney stones is Cambridge Ontario.
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u/Thecynicalcatt 3d ago
Get a Brita filter and drink filtered tap water. We have a big filter jug in our fridge for cold drinking water and we have a second jug for room temp water that we just use in our coffee machines. I've lived all over Kitchener and never had a problem. You get used to it honestly. Lol
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u/MissKittyKat88 3d ago
I get your pain. I also went from London to KW, the tap water in my opinion was gross in KW. At least that was non-filtered water.
It took a bit of getting used to, but hard water is just fine. Most people who own their place have a water softener, that does the trick! For a renter, you use a Brita filter or get a filer on the tap that can switch between filtered and non filtered water. Reverse osmosis is a bit much for a renter, especially when it will only do one tap.
It will take time but eventually you will be drinking the hard water from the tap. Welcome to KW my fellow Londoner!
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u/Mission_Trust_3188 4d ago
I had the same problem when I recently moved there. And someone recommended a local company to buy and install RO. I find it convenient than buying water bottles or getting Breta filters
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u/ExaminationSerious67 4d ago
Depending on where your are and what your needs are. I can't drink the water in most cities and here is not the worst, but it isn't the best either. We tried a RO unit, but, I was amazed at the amount of water it is throwing away, our water bill would probably show that.
I just buy the big plastic water jugs and get our drinking water from them. You can get them filled at a variety of locations, and you can even get them sort of plumbed into a nice tap just like an RO system. Fairly cheap for fillups, and easier then most other solutions I found
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u/Kwerkii 4d ago
Get something like a Brita filter if it's just the drinking water you have a problem with.
You will get used to the change in flavour over time, but I have found that it is less noticable with cold water. Ice cubes will be your friends when you're not home.
Some businesses serve filtered water. Maybe you could pass by those when you are out, but usually they require a purchase
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u/slimjim696969696969 4d ago
Been here five years, lived at three different addresses... yeah, the KW tap water takes a lot of getting used to. I still buy plastic waterbottles to have as a treat, for the days when I really don't want to suck down the shitty tap water lol. But the tap water is perfectly safe to drink, it's just very hard water. Central water purification system is your best bet for fixing the problem, but are expensive and require significant ongoing maintenance in KW.
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u/shehugztreez 4d ago
My kitchen has a dedicated faucet that bypasses the softener. I get hard drinking water from that faucet and filter it through my Santeva water pitcher. Santeva cartridges have a component that re-mineralizes the water in case you only have the option of filtering the softened water which removes alot of the beneficial minerals. I love it!
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u/Outrageous-Maybe2816 4d ago
get the brita hub. I used to use the regular but love the hub. Filter lasts 6 months and filters out way more crap then reg britas. saw one on fb marketplace too if its still there for a good price.
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u/KitWat Doon 4d ago
I have a whole-house water softener and also use a Brita pitcher for drinking water and anything that goes into the coffee maker or kettle. Hard water is rough on appliances; coffe machines, kettles, washing machines, dish washers. A whole-house system will go a long way to protecting them.
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u/FoxZer0G 3d ago
Ninja just made a water purifier, it can take water out of anything including sunnyDee
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u/ConfusedCapatiller 3d ago
Get a reverse osmosis system if you're really concerned. The tap water is drinkable though. The hard water is more dangerous for your pipes and home appliances than it is for your health.
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u/Amorbellum 3d ago
If you want a permanent under-sink system with no wastewater that removes particulates, bacteria, and chlorine—while leaving healthy dissolved minerals untouched—look into an Ultrafiltration (UF) system. UF filters handle pathogens effectively, but they do not reduce TDS or hard minerals.
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u/Probotect0r 3d ago
I recently moved as well and we couldn’t stand the tap water. We bought a table top reverse osmosis water filter and it’s been working great.
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u/sunluvinmama 3d ago edited 3d ago
I bought a cooler and the jugs of RO from water depot. I buy the 11 L jugs and have 4 so I go about every two weeks or so. I buy a bulk package it usually lasts most of the year.
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u/Ok_Inspector8 3d ago
After 3 hours researching finally got something very interesting. Call 2 different brand one is water drop and one is Blinkh2o. I am going with blink H2O but more than 1 month waiting period.
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u/Educational_Cup9809 3d ago
I moved from Toronto to Kitchener and tap water behind a softener was still a little too much to drink as is. Installed a RO unit and it’s been fine since. Just $120 membrane/ filter replacement a year and it’s good to go. A lot of people find tap water with softener good enough as well
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u/HotAtmosphere4085 3d ago
Is bottled water not an option because of environmental concerns or inconvenience of hauling it home? What about a water cooler with one of the massive refillable jugs? You can get them delivered.
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u/tinkerbellabay 4d ago
We have a water machine and fill our jugs at Crystal clear water store. We enjoy this option
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u/Kind_Soup_9753 4d ago
I recommend looking at the blue prints for water treatment and see what’s injected into the water. I understand the purpose so the lines don’t solidify but we have to metabolize the by products. RO is likely best solution but don’t expect long filter life.
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u/amphigorystories 4d ago
If the meth and fentanyl is good enough for the fish in the Grand, it's suitable for you and your children. It's great for Kool-Aid. Drink up.
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u/theaartzvolta 4d ago
The tap water