Shower filter for shitty cambridge water?

Submitted by HippieHippo t3_11364gn in CambridgeMA

Hi all,

I have heard that the water in Cambridge is pretty bad - I don't personally notice it, but my hair certainly seems to respond poorly, and has been very dry recently. I don't overshampoo or treat with chemicals and I use conditioner.

I was wondering if anyone had tried a shower water filter for this use and whether it made a difference for them? Does anyone recommend anything?

On a side note -- my plants also hate the cambridge water, so I'm thinking of getting a sink water filter

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Comments

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nattarbox t1_j8oieg0 wrote

Cambridge water is great, but you are accurate that it is harder than typical New England water and has a higher pH, and you may notice that in the shower. But also it's winter, there's no humidity, and everything is gonna seem dryer than you might like.

I've never had an issue with plants though.

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shining101 t1_j8pq2db wrote

Massachusetts water is some of the best in the nation. Eastern Massachusetts plumbing infrastructure on the other hand…

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corned_beef_balls t1_j8o88m4 wrote

Maybe something is wrong with your pipes. I have dozens of plants and only the orchids need filtered water. Where did you hear that Cambridge water is bad?

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HippieHippo OP t1_j8o8qe8 wrote

heres an example of a thread where people are talking about high mineral content and hardness: https://www.reddit.com/r/CambridgeMA/comments/kr6kv8/comment/gi7wmlk/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

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corned_beef_balls t1_j8osqzw wrote

Yeah one of the comments there cites the Cambridge government’s website saying the water doesn’t have high mineral levels.

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HippieHippo OP t1_j8ot2xd wrote

They don't add minerals, but they are there - thats what is meant by "moderately hard". Not as bad as some other places in the country, but not necessarily ideal

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HippieHippo OP t1_j8o8h86 wrote

tbf only one of my plants is sensitive to it and its known for being sensitive to hard water. And IDK I've just heard complaints about it. Its not like unsafe or anything I'm sure

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cambridgecitizen t1_j8oag51 wrote

I'm happy with this;

Culligan HSH-C135 Hand-Held Filtered Massage Showerhead, 10,000 Gallon, Chrome

Amazon has it for $78.50, but I paid $51.99 a couple of years ago.

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HippieHippo OP t1_j8oecig wrote

Thanks for the suggestion will definitely check it out!

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boat_against_current t1_j8oj6qu wrote

I have an AquaBliss filter, and it's definitely made a difference with my hair. I didn't realize how much the water here can have an effect until I was in NYC last year for a week and noticed how much softer my hair was, even with using the same products.

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burntsiennaaa t1_j8q7gnv wrote

As a New Yorker, I can attest to this. My hair is not happy in Cambridge ;(

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HippieHippo OP t1_j8otb60 wrote

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'll have to check that out!

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hugoc7x7 t1_j8sj3im wrote

Cambridge is notorious for having hard / mineral heavy water compared to Somerville and the city of boston in general. My hair reacted the same way when i moved to east cambridge and i thought i was going crazy. I got a shower head to help a bit (mostly helped with the pressure honestly) and just resorted to splashing some bottled water in my hair after a shower to ease it a bit. There are filters for homes though (expensive) and I've heard mixed things about the shower head filters. Best of luck!

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Captainbostonfish420 t1_j9e6jhj wrote

Cambridge water is only crappy for machines with heating elements and spouts after really long periods of time. Shower head filters are useless (think about the size of the cartridge vs the volume of water going through). There is nothing in the water that would be bad for plants. It’s all in your head.

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kobeyashidog t1_j8o8pym wrote

Cambridge water is perfectly fine, pretty much all cities and towns treat their water

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