I have a water conditioner, not a softener. I wanted the minerals but not the destruction of my plumbing. That was my goal. The product I have is NuvoH2O. The cartridge is out of the unit so right now, no citrate (I'm not there for the summer, anyway.) I can just not add the cartridge when I return. I have a backup electronic unit, Scaleblaster from Home Depot. It actually works by taking the calcium out of suspension and turning into little flakes that don't stick to the plumbing. I know it's working because I have a glass electric tea kettle and I can see the little flakes. I can pour most of them out or I can add a bit of vinegar and turn on for one cycle. I am plumbed for a salt based water softener if I decide to go that route.

I ordered a silica supplement. Silica is also thought to be beneficial for reversing and slowing bone loss. I am osteoporotic but I won't take the medications, so it will be interesting to see if this helps me in that respect. People report their hair, skin and nails greatly improved. Who doesn't need that?Also I am looking at different mineral waters. Fuji water, which I just bought, has 92 mg/L of silica. San Pellegrino has less. I have been a guinea pig for so many supplements in my search for the cure, and although many have been dead ends for the GD, they have been beneficial in general. The clove oil took care of my rash and itch everywhere except across my shoulder blades on my back. The itch and rash persist. However, I had an itch there for a couple of years before my GD diagnosis, so it might be another problem (I'm still working on the mite hypothesis for everything else.) Maybe aluminum? I can only hope (lol) since silica seems effective chelator for aluminum. I also ordered a far IR sauna, again on the assumption that I have this Demodex mite problem. It heats deep to the skin. You can't get your skin hot enough to kill the buggers. If it doesn't do anything for my rash/itch, it seems to have many beneficial effects and I am hoping it will also help my husband with some of his health issues. It's actually been shown to benefit those with heart failure - how counterintuitive is that! I figure that since pretty close to 100% of people my age have Demodex mites, and it's only those who are particularly hospitable to them that are symptomatic, it will be a management situation and not a cure. Shoot, with all these supplements, I should live to 100 and die with fabulous skin. So far, I'm still ingesting the cilantro and chlorella, lysine, histidine, black seed oil, collagen, hyaluronic acid.

Just a quick comment about the clove oil - I still use 3 times a day full strength, although lightly on those areas showing no symptoms, and more concentrated on those areas that are symptomatic. It has the advantage over the other essential oils shown to be effective on Demodex mites because of the numbing effect. It also cleared up case of impetigo I had in my elbow crease. Peppermint oil didn't do much to my GD. Tea tree oil, even when diluted, dried out my skin terribly and made it itchy because of that. I would love to lay off the clove oil soon. It's not so bad when we are socially distancing, but I have to explain to people new to me.