Are water softeners worth it?

Emma18

Mankysteve wrote: »

Have you got a water meter installed ? That will give you an idea of your usage. You can buy them if you wish to check yourself without switching to a metered supply.

No, not on water meter. Could look into it.
I guess once my older two boys get to teenage years and they actually WANT to shower then our consumption will probably go up!

yangptangkipperbang

greatgimpo wrote: »

remember that tablets are cheaper than block salt as there's more competition amongst suppliers.

..............and granular is even cheaper..............:D

harrythefurrysquid

I mentioned at the end of the last thread that I'd just bought a Monarch Midi water softener. I live in Guildford, Surrey, and it's my first experience with a softener. My water hardness is about 275 ppm.

Plumbing it in was extremely easy, but only because the previous house owner had done 90% of the hard work. It's about on par with plumbing in a washing machine (inlet, outlet and drain hoses, plus an overflow) - but you would have to get a plumber to put in the T-valves.

There was no noticeable pressure drop. This was a concern, because the supplier provide a different (large bore) hose kit for combi boilers, but I was using the existing smaller-diameter hoses.

My softener takes tablet salt only. I went to the Woking branch of Total Soft Water, who sell 25kg bags for less than a tenner each.

The difference was immediately noticeable; with a combi-boiler, I didn't have much hard water to flush out of the system.

Plates and glasses are obviously cleaner when washed by hand, without any residual scum or misting - equivalent to doing them in the dishwasher (with salt).

Soap lathers way better. I did notice the slippery feeling on my skin after rinsing (some people would describe it as "slimey"), but it doesn't persist after toweling off and I think I'll get used to it very quickly.

Even after a few weeks of hard water in my new house, I was already seeing limescale building up in the bathroom. The softener does seem to eliminate the problem, although I dare say that there will still be plenty of soap scum to clean up.

I haven't done a washing machine load yet, so I can't say if it'll make any difference to the way that performs.

I have a drinking water tap and outside tap that are connected to the hard water supply. I have also tried drinking the soft water, and while it tastes a bit different, it's not unpleasant. I believe standard practice is to do the install with the extra taps, though.

My softener manual suggested that the boiler should be filled with hard water or have a corrosion inhibitor added.

The Monarch Midi is a bit under 60 cm high, so I don't think it would quite fit under my sink. Also you need to be able to get tablet salt into the top, and since the bags are quite heavy, I suggest that a bit of manouvering room would be helpful. The top does slide off for access, but it would be quite time consuming to add tablets one handful at a time.

The softener cost me £475. Delivery was free, direct from Monarch, and comes with all the bits you'd need, except the salt.

I can't say how long the salt will last. Bloke in the shop said about 3-4 months for a 25kg bag for one person. My softener is metered, so I imagine it depends how much water you get through.

Hope this helps.

springdove

harrythefurrysquid wrote: »

Plumbing it in was extremely easy, but only because the previous house owner had done 90% of the hard work. It's about on par with plumbing in a washing machine (inlet, outlet and drain hoses, plus an overflow) - but you would have to get a plumber to put in the T-valves.

Hi Harry - what did the plumbing cost?

I'm in the market for one at the moment as you can see from the other thread!

I'm thinking of taking DOC N's advice to go for the Tapworks model.

harrythefurrysquid

springdove wrote: »

Hi Harry - what did the plumbing cost?

I'm in the market for one at the moment as you can see from the other thread!

I'm thinking of taking DOC N's advice to go for the Tapworks model.

The plumbing cost me nothing, because all the stuff you might need a professional for had already been handled.

The previous owner left behind two (well, actually three) hoses with the right connectors (right-angle, threaded) plumbed into the copper pipework, and two neatly drilled out holes in the wall.

I merely had to screw the connectors onto the softener, and stick the drain hose (which is not dissimilar to a garden hose) out of one hole, and a cut-off bit from the overflow out of the other hole.

The TapWorks installation picture in the other thread is exactly the same as for the Monarch Midi.

Here's a bunch of images showing the installation: http://imgur.com/a/kLVoq/all

I don't see any reason why you shouldn't follow Doc N's advice. I'm entirely happy with what I got, which sounds very similar. Why pay more?