Water Softener or Filter

Jamboat

The water quality where I live is not great. We haven't drank water from the tap in a couple of years and in the last while my hair has been turning green from the water in the shower which I have been told is caused by too much mineral in the water and that copper specifically turns hair green. We don't have too much problems with limescale as we don't have to replace kettles etc. Anyway I've been looking online and I'm trying to determine if I need to get a water softener and treat the water coming in or if I could get some kind of filter for the shower (which might also be a cheaper option) and that would sort out the green hair issues. Any recommendations on a shower filter that might do this?
Thanks

Wearb

I would have the water sampled if it were me. Is it a public supply?

Jamboat

Yes it's a public supply. I was thinking about getting it tested but I have since spoken to a company that supplies water softeners and they told me there was no point testing it because since I'm on a public mains there would be no Iron or bacteria in the water and the problem would be limescale.

Wearb

I would agree that it is most likely safe when it's such a supply. They regularly monitor it.

As your neighbours if they have similar problems. Ask your water supplier (irish water?) for advice. See if they would be "kind enough" to send somebody out to advise you. I would do both of those things before forking out money on something that may not work.

youtheman

Just be advised that a filter and water softener are for 2 completely different purposes. A filter is just a mechanical screen that will only remove solid objects bigger than the mesh size in the filter media. A softener is for removing dissolved chemicals such as magnesium and calcium. You can't remove a dissolved chemical with a filter.

So you need to first decide what is wrong with your water, and what system you need to fix it.

db

A water softener is purely for removing lime in the water. As Wearb said you need to get the water tested to see what is in it and then look at what the solutions are to remove the impurities. A test will cost about €100 but could save you 10 times that on the wrong system.

Jamboat

Thanks for the replies. I got a water test kit from one of the companies who supplies softeners and filters. When I tested the water with this the results were that the water is not hard. So I'm going to do a proper test on it and order a test from www.irishwatertesting.com .