Data sourced from the EWG Tap Water Database, EPA ECHO, and local Consumer Confidence Reports.
Disinfection byproducts present in Lake County city water systems above EWG health guidelines.
Carcinogenic haloacetic acids formed during chlorination detected above EWG guidelines countywide.
Hexavalent chromium detected in Lake County water with no federal legal protection.
Lake County well water from the Floridan Aquifer is extremely hard — causing widespread appliance and plumbing damage.
Private well users throughout Lake County commonly encounter orange iron staining and sulfur odor.
⚠️ Meeting legal standards ≠ safe water. Federal limits are set on economic feasibility, not purely health risk. EWG guidelines reflect a 1-in-1-million cancer risk threshold.
Lake County — named for its thousands of lakes — has water quality data showing elevated disinfection byproducts, chromium-6, and significant well water challenges throughout its rural communities.
Hard, chlorinated, and contaminated water is silently billing your household every single month — in wasted products, damaged appliances, energy inefficiency, and health costs. Add it up below. The math is uncomfortable.
At 47 gallons of bottled water per person per year — the U.S. average — a family of four spends between $900 and $2,700 annually depending on brand and purchase format. That's tap water, packaged in plastic, sold back to you at 300–3,000× the cost of municipal water.
Every 5 grains per gallon of hardness causes a 4% drop in water heater efficiency. Central Florida well water runs 20–30+ GPG — meaning your water heater is running 16–24% less efficiently than it should, burning 16–24% more gas or electricity for the same hot water. The DOE reports water heating accounts for 14–25% of home energy use.
Hard water minerals react with soap to form insoluble calcium and magnesium soap scum — meaning your shampoo, body wash, and conditioner never fully lather or rinse clean. Studies show hard water households use 2–3× more soap and shampoo to get the same result as soft water households. The excess also leaves residue in hair and on skin, driving purchase of additional moisturizers, clarifying treatments, and hair products that wouldn't be needed with soft water.
Hard water scale on showers, faucets, toilets, and appliances requires CLR, lime-away, vinegar solutions, and other descaling agents that soft water households never need to buy. White chalky buildup in coffee makers, kettles, and dishwashers also requires periodic cleaning or early replacement. Every cleaning hour is also a time cost.
The 2009 Battelle Memorial Institute study — the most comprehensive independent study on this topic — found that hard water reduces appliance lifespan dramatically. Tankless water heaters in hard-water homes failed in just 1.6 years vs. 10+ years with soft water. Dishwashers and washing machines showed significant scale buildup after just 30 days of hard water use. 75% of water heaters fail by year 12 in hard-water homes vs. 15+ years with treated water.
Hard water prevents detergent from dissolving fully — causing it to bind with minerals instead of lifting soil from fabric. Hard water households use 50% more detergent to achieve the same clean, according to the WQRF Detergent Savings Study. Clothes also come out stiff, fade faster, and wear out sooner — shortening the useful life of your wardrobe and linens.
Scale inside pipes can reduce water flow by 40% or more, increasing pressure on joints and seals. The Battelle study found showerhead nozzles lost 75% of flow rate in under 18 months with hard water — while soft water units showed no clogging whatsoever. Repiping a home costs $5,000–$15,000. Faucet and fixture replacement, scale-related leaks, and plumber visits add up to hundreds per year even before major failures.
Hard water mineral deposits coat the hair shaft, block scalp pores, and leave a soap-scum film on skin that prevents moisturizers from absorbing. Clinical studies show increased rates of eczema in children in hard water areas, and reduced hair tensile strength after washing with hard vs. distilled water. The result: purchases of specialized moisturizers, clarifying shampoos, scalp treatments, nail strengtheners, and dermatology visits — none of which fix the root cause.
A properly specified CFL Water Treatment system — softener + RO — eliminates virtually every cost category above. You stop buying bottled water. Your water heater runs at full factory efficiency for 15+ years. You use half the soap. Cleaning products you never needed disappear from your cart. Your appliances last twice as long.
The system doesn't cost you money. It recovers money you're already losing — and redirects it toward an asset that protects your home, your appliances, and your health.
Bottled water spending: CounterPunch (Nov. 2023), citing Consumer Reports 2019 survey; International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) per-capita consumption 2024 (47.1 gal/person/yr); Statista U.S. bottled water pricing data; SYPS Hydration cost analysis (2026).
Water heater efficiency: Battelle Memorial Institute / Water Quality Research Foundation Energy Savings Study (2009) — commissioned independently; U.S. Department of Energy — water heating = 14–25% of home energy use; EPA: every 5 GPG of hardness = 4% efficiency loss; Leaf Home analysis citing Water Quality Research Foundation (WQRF) — gas water heaters can lose 24–48% efficiency on hard water.
Soap & personal care: WQRF / Scientific Services S/D Detergent Savings Study (2011); Battelle Memorial Institute Study (2009); Quality Water Treatment — soft water reduces soap usage by up to 50%; Kinetico Resource Center.
Appliance lifespan: Battelle Memorial Institute / WQRF Study (2009) — 30 water heaters tested over 90 days; WQRF — tankless water heaters failed in 1.6 yrs on hard water vs. 10+ yrs on soft; Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) — 75% of water heaters fail by year 12; Leaf Home citing USGS and IBHS data.
Plumbing & fixtures: Battelle Memorial Institute (2009) — showerheads lost 75% of flow in under 18 months; low-flow faucets clogged within equivalent of 19 days of use on hard water; Crystal Quest Water Filters — scale reduces pipe flow 40%+; NAHB plumbing cost estimates.
Hair, skin & nails: LearnSkin.com peer-reviewed summary — KP Pakistan hair tensile strength study (2018): hard water hair strength 234.16 vs. 254.84 deionized; 2016 male hair breakage study confirming reduced tensile stress; Danish retrospective cohort study (blood donors) linking hard water to xerosis; British Journal of Dermatology studies on water hardness and atopic dermatitis; Culligan Water clinical summary.
Dollar figures represent ranges from cited sources and represent plausible estimates for a Central Florida family of 4. Individual results vary based on household size, water hardness level, and consumption patterns. CFL Water Treatment makes no guarantees of specific savings.
The averages above are real — but your number might be higher or lower. Adjust each slider to match your household and see your personal cost update live.
Click your city for a full breakdown of contaminants, violations, and recommended water treatment solutions.
Every system designed for Central Florida water chemistry.
Entry-level whole-home protection
Whole-home softening + pure drinking water
Maximum protection — every tap in the home
Discolored or foul-smelling water triggers an immediate, instinctive response — you avoid it. But water that looks perfectly clear may carry no such warning signal at all.
Discolored or odorous water naturally prompts caution — and that instinct is useful. But compounds like PFAS, trihalomethanes, arsenic, and chromium-6 are colorless, odorless, and tasteless. They produce no signal that triggers avoidance. Water quality researchers note this as a meaningful gap between perceived risk and actual exposure. A water test doesn't tell you your water is dangerous — it tells you what's actually in it, so you can make an informed decision.
Request a Free Water Test →Legal standards are set for political and economic reasons — not purely health. EWG guidelines reflect a 1-in-1,000,000 cancer risk threshold. Here's how Central Florida water compares.
Data sourced from EWG Tap Water Database and Florida DEP water quality reports. Bars shown as proportional representation. Even "legally compliant" water can significantly exceed health-based guidelines.
What is actually in your water right now versus what you get after a properly matched treatment system.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals that do not break down in the environment or in your body — which is why they are called "forever chemicals."
The EPA set a new PFAS limit of 4 ppt in 2024 — multiple Central Florida cities exceed this. PFAS cannot be removed by standard carbon filters or softeners — only reverse osmosis membranes are effective.
Most contaminants are invisible — but here's how to recognize water quality issues by sight, smell, and taste.
⚠️ Remember: The most dangerous contaminants — PFAS, TTHMs, arsenic, chromium-6 — are completely colorless and odorless. A free water test is the only way to know what's really in your water.
Water hardness is measured in grains per gallon (GPG). Anything above 7 GPG is considered hard. Central Florida water is among the hardest in the country.
Scale buildup coats heating elements, cutting efficiency by 30%+ and dramatically shortening lifespan.
Mineral deposits clog spray arms, cloud glassware, and corrode seals — requiring more detergent and early replacement.
Hard water stiffens fabric, fades colors, and leaves mineral residue in the drum — shortening appliance life.
Scale narrows pipes over years, pits faucets, clogs showerheads, and causes premature fixture failure throughout the home.
Central Florida well water is often 20–30+ GPG — up to 8× the US average. City water ranges from 10–18 GPG depending on location. A water softener pays for itself in appliance longevity within 2–4 years.
Hard water carries calcium and magnesium minerals that destroy appliances, clog pipes, and leave residue on everything they touch. Here's how a softener fixes it.
Modern high-efficiency softeners automatically regenerate using salt — restoring the resin beads so they continue removing hardness minerals day after day.
Reverse osmosis forces water through a semi-permeable membrane with pores 0.0001 microns wide — smaller than any bacteria, virus, or dissolved chemical. Here's the full multi-stage process.
Reverse osmosis is the only technology proven to remove PFAS (forever chemicals), arsenic, radium, chromium-6, TTHMs, HAAs, nitrates, and hundreds of other contaminants in a single system.
What is actually in your water right now versus what you get after a properly matched treatment system.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals that do not break down in the environment or in your body — which is why they are called "forever chemicals."
The EPA set a new PFAS limit of 4 ppt in 2024 — multiple Central Florida cities exceed this. PFAS cannot be removed by standard carbon filters or softeners — only reverse osmosis membranes are effective.
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