water for coffee maker

[frank]

I have a well and hard water. Do not like a water softener. I was wondering if there is a filter for the sink or pitcher that works well to keep lime from forming in the coffee maker? anyone here use anything like this or what do you use to keep your coffee maker from liming up? thanks

frank

 

[pb4uski]

We just run white vinegar through ours a couple times a year to de-scale it. Then run 2 or 3 pots of regular water to flush out the vinegar.

 

[street]

^ this works great.

We have hardly any iron in our water, but vinegar is the best and cheapest way for you.

I knew a couple that put a tablespoon of vinegar in each pot of coffee they made. It would make the coffee a beautiful color and crystal clear/clean, and it made for a good tasting cup of jo.

 

[RetiredHappy]

We have whole house reverse osmosis water for drinking (additional R/O tap at every sink) and to the fridge. You can also install at just one sink/tap. Our reverse osmosis brings dissolved minerals down to less than 5 PPM for our drinking water.

 

[Gumby]

Our city water is in the Goldilocks zone, neither too hard nor too soft. We fill the Keurig machine with tap water filtered through a Britta pitcher. A couple times a year, we run either white vinegar or the commercial cleaner stuff through it as a prophylactic measure.

 

[steelyman]

I use filtered water (only) for coffee and drinking. It tastes much better to me. I also clean the drip coffee maker regularly with white vinegar as directed by the manufacturer. Cleaning doesn’t take long but it’s easy to forget so I have an automated reminder.

[ADDED] I see this didn’t address the original question so: before I moved to my current home I used a small Brita tank (not pitcher) that fit on the countertop and gave good results. It only needed refilling (from the tap) and occasional filter change.

 

[Ian S]

We use filtered water so unlike RO water, minerals are retained. Our coffee maker recommends a monthly cleaning using vinegar and it's a cheap and easy process although I typically do it a bit less than monthly.

 

[ERD50]

I have a well and hard water. Do not like a water softener. ...
frank

Need more information: How hard and how much iron?

We were on a well, ~ 750 ppm (~44 grains, over ten is considered "very hard") and ~ 2ppm Iron.

We used a water softener, but I think the ~ 750mg of sodium that replaced the minerals was too salty for good coffee. We used an RO unit after the softener, which them removed the salt leaving very pure water. We used the RO water for our coffee, tea, juice, etc (and my beer brewing, adding in minerals as I needed for proper pH).

Now we are on Lake Michigan water which is pretty soft, but not as low in minerals as RO. It seems to be fine for making coffee, but our coffeemaker sense it needs cleaning after ~ 4 months. It maybe did that once or twice in years with the RO.

I don't think a filter will remove that much of the minerals, mostly they remove chlorine, lead, etc.

https://waterpurificationguide.com/do-brita-water-filters-soften-water/

While tap water supply in the United States is better than most other countries, some regions receive hard water. Well water (and water from underground aquifers) is frequently hard and requires filtration before consumption. However, not all Brita water filters can soften hard water.

Brita water filters do not soften water. Brita filter pitchers, bottles and faucet filters use carbon cartridges to improve taste, odor, and remove heavy metals. However, they cannot remove dissolved salts like calcium and magnesium.

-ERD50

 

[W2R]

I love the taste of the water here in New Orleans. I know, I know, people make fun of me because it apparently comes from the Mighty Mississippi River. Sounds disgusting!! But hey, what can I say, it tastes really good to me. In general I have found that I like the water in regions that have a lot of rainfall, like New Orleans, and personally I don't like the taste of the water in regions that are desert or semi-desert, like some parts of the desert southwest.

Because of this thread, I got on the internet and found out that apparently our water is hard, not soft. ( And you know, if the internet says something, it must be true, right? )

I don't do anything to it. Should I? Since I like the water, I can't see what the advantage might be. I have been using the same 3-liter Zojirushi hot water boiler to heat up water for my instant coffee, for the past 15 years. Thinking of getting a new one, one of these days. I haven't noticed any lime, but then I haven't even looked for it.

 

[Fermion]

I love the taste of the water here in New Orleans. I know, I know, people make fun of me because it apparently comes from the Mighty Mississippi River. Sounds disgusting!! But hey, what can I say, it tastes really good to me. In general I have found that I like the water in regions that have a lot of rainfall, like New Orleans.

Hey, it is already coffee color you just have to add some flavor!

 

[W2R]

Hey, it is already coffee color you just have to add some flavor!

There ya go!!!

 

[Midpack]

We just run white vinegar through ours a couple times a year to de-scale it. Then run 2 or 3 pots of regular water to flush out the vinegar.

+1, us too. We don’t have hard water but DW uses filtered water only for coffee. We have a Brita and our fridge has a replaceable filter, she uses either.

 

[OldShooter]

We just run white vinegar through ours a couple times a year to de-scale it. Then run 2 or 3 pots of regular water to flush out the vinegar.

Yup. SOP at our lake place where we are on a private well with no softener. We use vinegar to clean faucet aerators* and other things that tend to collect minerals. Disassemble to loose parts and soak overnight. Usually 1:1 vinegar and water will work too.

*a small strap wrench is useful for unscrewing these little devils.

 

[frank]

Don't get me wrong. we are on well water and have been for 50 years, same well water is great tasting, way better than the local city water. It just builds up a lot of lime in the aerators, coffee makers, but oddly enough it doesn't in the ice maker, which I don't even know if it has a filter. It happens that we bought a new Bunn coffeemaker a couple of months ago and it limes up frequently. I mean to say every couple weeks, where the old bunn we had was every few months.

 

[target2019]

I would try something inexpensive first. For example: Nakii Everyday Water Filter Pitcher, Powerful Ion and Aquelen Filtration System, Long Lasting Filter, Filters Chlorine, Lead, Heavy Metal, Remove Lime-Scale, Filter Change Indicator,12 Cup.

Even a Brita filter will reduce some of lime scale but it is not 100%. I've been using a Brita pitcher for many years, as our water is a little hard. I have seen a small amount of buildup, but not as in the past.

If you have a second faucet nearby you might try one of the clamp-on devices that are made specifically for hard water.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We get ours from a dedicated filter that I installed to feed the water reservoir automatically.

 

[Mark1]

Don't get me wrong. we are on well water and have been for 50 years, same well water is great tasting, way better than the local city water. It just builds up a lot of lime in the aerators, coffee makers, but oddly enough it doesn't in the ice maker, which I don't even know if it has a filter. It happens that we bought a new Bunn coffeemaker a couple of months ago and it limes up frequently. I mean to say every couple weeks, where the old bunn we had was every few months.

Get a new coffee pot.
It sounds like you prefer the taste of the well water and don't want to give it up. I grew up on a farm in NE Iowa and remember moving to town when I was a teenager and thinking "This town water sucks and has no taste".

 

[target2019]

Another pitcher we use for drinking water is LifeStraw Home Water Filter Pitcher. It has a 2-stage system, so costs more for filters. It does not remove minerals per the manudacturer.

 

[NW-Bound]

We get ours from a dedicated filter that I installed to feed the water reservoir automatically.

I thought that only RO filters can reduce dissolved solids, and the carbon filters cannot.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I thought that only RO filters can reduce dissolved solids, and the carbon filters cannot.

It is just a standard Fridge Filter. Our water is very good, we had it tested and these filters are adequate for us. Coffee Tastes Great. Water has no taste at all.

 

[NW-Bound]

It is just a standard Fridge Filter. Our water is very good, we had it tested and these filters are adequate for us. Coffee Tastes Great. Water has no taste at all.

The carbon filter removes chlorine and some organic materials if present. Hence the taste is improved.

It does not remove dissolved minerals, but the minerals may make the water taste better. They sell mineral water in bottles.

PS. Minerals are good for your health. The only problem is they leave scales in the pot.

 

[Turbo29]

Where I live companies heavily promote the installation of water softeners or RO systems. The worst manifestation of this are the door to door salespeople offering to do a "water test."

One day one of them asked me, "Would you like a free water test?" I replied, "You must be offering that because we have hard water. Did you know that epidemiologically speaking, hard water is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease?"

Her face froze up for a moment and then she said, "I guess that means you don't want it." I replied, "No."

What I told her is true although there are competing theories as to why it is true. In any case I have always drunk tap water (out of habit, not because it may or may not be more healthful). Even when I carry water with me, I fill up a reusable flask at my kitchen faucet. I have no treatment system.

Cardiovascular Health: Hard Data for Hard Water

 

[NW-Bound]

I use RO filtered water to make coffee and tea, because I dislike the scale.

I use tap water for cooking to get the minerals.

 

[pacergal]

WE have great tasting city water here, however I try to use the filtered refrigerator water for the coffee pot to decrease scale buildup.
I too use vinegar every few months for the cleaning. You can buy a descaler, but vinegar works just as well and is a whole lot cheaper.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

PS. Minerals are good for your health. The only problem is they leave scales in the pot.

We have never had an issue with scaling, only chlorine and such. We have a 15 year old electric kettle that has never needed to be descaled. We never need to descale our coffee makers either. Although I do run some vinegar through a couple of times a year for good measure.