Have you got a water softener?

[john999boy]

A new kitchen is on the cards and as part of the upheaval, I was wondering about having a water softener fitted.

 

Has anyone already got one and if so, what are their thoughts and how much of a difference did it make to bringing down the previous water 'hardness'? Any particular recommendations or warn-offs?

[Tilt]

No, just a Salamander 'SESI' electrolytic scale inhibitor.

 

I wouldn't think it is feasible for someone to say, yes, their water is less hard due to using a water softener, without specific tests being done on the water.

 

Someone may have done this though, who knows!

 

Good luck with your new kitchen. I have been fitting them for around 15 years now.

[DGW]

All of the water in the East Anglian region where I live is classed as being hard to very hard. I had a Kinetico water softener fitted 2 years after moving houses and that lasted 14 1/2 years before being beyond economical repair. It was replaced in 2013 by a Harveys MC2 which I rate as being superior to the Kinetico in performance. Both use Harveys block salt. The benefits of using a water softener include no limescale on taps, shower heads, inside toliet cisterns, on washing machine elements and in plumbing generally. The running cost for ours is circa £1 a week (2 blocks of salt cost £4.80 and last 4-5 weeks). That is offset by the need to use less shampoo, body wash, washing machine detergent and washing up liquid - unless you like copious amouts of lather.

Our water softener was out of use for a few months last year while our kitchen was being renovated. We really missed it.

Edited 14 May, 2016 by DGW

[camelspyyder]

In Lincolnshire we only really need to improve the water for drinking so weve just put a 3 way Brita tap in the kitchen (under £200 fitted).

The cartridge filters are pricey but should last a family 3 months a time.

[fabiamk2SE]

Depends on the area.

[Guest]

Move to Central Scotland!

I didn't know about hard and soft water or limescale until I joined the RN. What an eye openeropener.

There's a couple of drinking water fountains at my last place of work where you could fill a water bottle, and yet people would still pay over inflated prices for bottled water.

[Newbie VRS]

We've had water softners for the last 25 years. Both houses were in hard / very hard water areas - using the tester that came with our new dishwasher / washing machines

 

The first one, in the last house was an electric one, which used the salt tablets in bags. It worked well, no limescale or issues with limescale in appliances / kettles.

The only issue was it was in the loft, a bit of a mare, getting the 25kg sacks of salt up there. 

 

When we moved, there was no water softner for a few months and everything was getting limescale and we were using a lot of soap etc.

We had a twintec, salt block softner fitted about 10 years ago, we were returned to normal service, no limescale.

As we had this one fitted, it was easy access in a cupboard in the kitchen

[john999boy]

For the peeps that have one, what sort of ballpark price have you paid and do they affect the taste at all?

I did come across a mega system today which did instant hot, filtered, sparkling and normal for only £4k! It was in a no holds barred showroom and had a black ceramic tap to warrant the cost though. Not too sure how many had been sold mind.

[Newbie VRS]

Mine was £950 fitted, but that was 10 years ago

[lol-lol]

A new kitchen is on the cards and as part of the upheaval, I was wondering about having a water softener fitted.

 

Has anyone already got one and if so, what are their thoughts and how much of a difference did it make to bringing down the previous water 'hardness'? Any particular recommendations or warn-offs?

 

 

Here is a thought for you....

 

Hard water 'stops heart attacks'

Drinking hard water may protect against heart disease, researchers have claimed.

Researchers from the Geographical Survey of Finland looked at 19,000 men who had suffered heart attacks.

They found for every unit increase in water hardness, there was a 1% decrease in the risk of having a further attack.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3396141.stm

[gadgetman]

You only need to filter drinking water, so one of the 3 way brita taps would be perfect.

Replacement cartridges should last a year and be less than £60. I think brita call them A1000 (not 100% as I only deal with their professional C series)

[Rustynuts]

You only need to filter drinking water, so one of the 3 way brita taps would be perfect.

Replacement cartridges should last a year and be less than £60. I think brita call them A1000 (not 100% as I only deal with their professional C series)

Soft water isn't just about drinking though. All the water which goes though the hot water system and gets heated will have the limescale boiled out of it and deposited on the showerheads, tap outlets, inside of the hot water cylinder. It'll also get deposited inside the washing machine when used on a hot wash. Then you get the added benefit of using less soap and cleaning agents to consider.

Confining softened water to just drinking isn't the way really, in fact some people prefer to use unsoftened water for drinking.

[gadgetman]

Soft water isn't just about drinking though. All the water which goes though the hot water system and gets heated will have the limescale boiled out of it and deposited on the showerheads, tap outlets, inside of the hot water cylinder. It'll also get deposited inside the washing machine when used on a hot wash. Then you get the added benefit of using less soap and cleaning agents to consider.

Confining softened water to just drinking isn't the way really, in fact some people prefer to use unsoftened water for drinking.

If you put all your incoming water through a softener you'll expire it very quickly.

The brita filter for their taps should last around 7000 litres in most areas depending on hardness.

If you put all your water through it, you'll exhaust it in around 3-4 months for an average household.

[MillsyVRS]

My dad fitted one a couple of years ago now and it does have benefits as some people have described. Less chalk build up on shower/bathroom walls, use less washing machine powder and kettle and other appliances don't get all the lines cake build up.

We don't find we are using any less soap like products and now I don't use bars of soap because even after you run your hands under the water for a few minutes they still feel slimy like there's still soap on them.

Some female members of the family complained their skin has become drier and takes longer to remove shampoo from hair etc. I'm personally neither for it or against it. Didn't have a problem with the hard water before hand.

[Rustynuts]

If you put all your incoming water through a softener you'll expire it very quickly.

The brita filter for their taps should last around 7000 litres in most areas depending on hardness.

If you put all your water through it, you'll exhaust it in around 3-4 months for an average household.

We're not talking about cheap disposable softeners I think. More something like this unit which would be suitable for whole house use.

 

http://www.kinetico.co.uk/water-softener/kinetico-water-softeners/kinetico-2050c.aspx

[gadgetman]

We're not talking about cheap disposable softeners I think. More something like this unit which would be suitable for whole house use.

http://www.kinetico.co.uk/water-softener/kinetico-water-softeners/kinetico-2050c.aspx

You cannot use a salt system for drinking water - it's illegal to do so because it can kill anyone with blood pressure or heart conditions.

[Rustynuts]

You cannot use a salt system for drinking water - it's illegal to do so because it can kill anyone with blood pressure or heart conditions.

That's an interesting statement. Not something I've heard before.

However there's a limit to the amount of sodium allowed in drinking water of 200mgNa/l. In cases where these salt levels are possibly exceeded then a mains fed (untreated) tap is usually supplied...

Edit: Typo

Edited 15 May, 2016 by Rustynuts

[gadgetman]

That's an interesting statement. Not something I've heard before.

However there's a limit to the amount of sodium allowed in drinking water of 20mgNa/l. In cases where these salt levels are possibly exceeded then a mains fed (untreated) tap is usually supplied...

Not 100% on the levels etc, only that any equipment we fit cannot have it.

I believe recent changes to potable water supplies also prohibits them on commercial dishwashers - which was quite a common/standard filtration system for dishwashers.

[@Lee]

IIRC water softners have to have one tap (usually the cold tap in the kitchen) that was unfiltered.

 

Millsy's issue with dry skin and hair is, IME, not adjusting the level/ amount of detergents or soap, shampoo etc to compensate for the softer water.

 

Our neighbour had a filter fitted as he sold them and the difference in the limscale build up on taps and shower heads was like chalk and cheese

[Rustynuts]

Just edited my earlier reply to reflect the correct sodium levels.

Gadgetman, I'm fairly sure we both have the same basic idea. I said earlier that whole house softeners could be used with possible exceptions for drinking water.

[DGW]

Our house already had plumbing for a water softener when we bought it in 1996. The Kinettico we had fitted in 1998 cost £735 and the Harvey MC2 fitted in 2013 was £1150.

[john999boy]

I can't believe how complicated this is turning out to be. :(

I've requested further info from the two companies which Denis has dealt with so we'll see where that goes. I did notice there was an ability to have 'standard' hard water for drinking alongside the softened version if necessary with the Harvey machine.

 

You only need to filter drinking water, so one of the 3 way brita taps would be perfect.
Replacement cartridges should last a year and be less than £60. I think brita call them A1000 (not 100% as I only deal with their professional C series)

 

I was thinking about it for the complete system Simon as that would also have the benefits that Rusty has listed.

 

Soft water isn't just about drinking though. All the water which goes though the hot water system and gets heated will have the limescale boiled out of it and deposited on the showerheads, tap outlets, inside of the hot water cylinder. It'll also get deposited inside the washing machine when used on a hot wash. Then you get the added benefit of using less soap and cleaning agents to consider.

Confining softened water to just drinking isn't the way really, in fact some people prefer to use unsoftened water for drinking.