More on water

It's been a while since I've posted - winter is coming and there has been so much to do before the snow flies. We're trying to bed down the homestead, and the to-do list is pretty long.
But over the past few weeks The Culligan Man installed a new water softener and a reverse osmosis system. They are FANTASTIC. The water softener is great because it's finally doing its job without leaving mounds of salt everywhere (on dishes, the shower curtain, the counters). Less salt means hopefully the septic tank is catching a break, too.
The reverse osmosis system is what I'm most excited about. The model we got fits under our sink, tucked into a corner. It is comprised of 2 cylindars with filters in them (which each last about a year) and one that has the RO membrane in it (which they expect to last 5-10 years). The tank which stores the processed water sits beside it. The whole thing is tapped into the existing plumbing, and operates on air pressure. NO ELECTRICITY REQUIRED which is one of my favourite points. And while people had said that RO water wastes a lot of water as there is a portion of the incoming water which is rejected (and thus flushed down the drain), apparently this system has a 1:1.3 ratio, so very little is being rejected. The water tastes great, and I find I'm drinking a lot more - plus, we aren't buying it from the supermarket, so I don't feel that I have to ration it. I water the plants with it, too - they hated the softened water, and give it to the animals, who seem to like it (the dog drinks a couple of bowlfuls a day).
I feel like one big weight has been lifted - we have safe, drinkable water and are also hopefully on the way to improved septic health. It's also exciting to drink water that is far more yummy than city water ever was. Yeah Culligan Man!