Water softeners

goodwithsaving

Hi,


The area in which I live has very hard water which means everything gets covered in limescale and I am forever descaling the kettle and shower head. I dread to think what it's doing to the appliances, although I use salt in the dishwasher and softener tablets in the washing machine.


I understand that drinking water cannot go through the softener, is that right?


I wanted to hear from anyone who has had one installed and has pros/cons?


It's not about the money of the install, I didn't grow up with hard water and it has bothered my skin for the years I have lived here. I suspect the quote I have had was quite high (£850 + VAT) so will get other quotes too but ultimately, I'm happy to pay to have softened water.



Thanks in advance for all water softener advice

SamanthaNichols1

Now I’ve only had Fleck softener in operation for a couple of months. But so far it has been working perfectly. I did have to call the seller during installation with a question about water being retained in the salt tank (my previous softener was a Sears and it never had standing water in the salt tank like this one does. The person I talked to was extremely helpful as well as pleasant to talk to. He also walked me through the program cycles (his help was actually more helpful than the YouTube video I watched). Our water is moderately hard. This softener might have been a little overkill, but I prefer that to struggling with equipment that can hardly keep up

ComicGeek

We live in an area of very hard water, most houses here have water softeners. Couldn't live without it. 

We have a non softened filtered water supply for drinking water, but still use softened water for filling the kettle/coffee machine - young children and pregnant women shouldn't drink softened water in significant quantities. Non softened external water tap for the garden as well.

We rent ours from a local company for a monthly fee - that includes installation and fixing any problems, and has proved cheaper than buying it outright over the last 10 years. Still need to buy salt, but worth it overall - taps, washing machine and kettle still look brand new even after 10 years. We all have sensitive skin, and my young son has mild eczema, and we really notice when we stay away from home.

Mutton_Geoff

I've had the osmosis based systems in the past (salt to clean filter) but switched to the more environmentally friendly "One Stop" scale remover which uses media (white powder) in a tank to filter water at a higher rate. It doesn't waste water with a cleaning cycle and easily installs under your sink. No connection with the company that sells these, just a happy customer.

It's a bit fiddly changing the media once a year but the water feels/tastes more natural than the stuff out of the osmosis descalers.

http://www.scalestop.co.uk

silvercar

I have a water softener and then a reverse osmosis filter on the drinking water tap. Keeps everything limescale free. The other option is to have a water softener that doesn't serve your kitchen tap, but then your kitchen tap and kettle will get limescale.