Water softener and drinking water filter

tallac

I'm living in the London area and would like to get a water softener for the house to help with limescale build up. However, I'd like a separate drinking water filtered tap at the kitchen sink that bypasses the water softener.

I know nothing about what are reputable brands for these things and which ones should be avoided. For both products, I'd like a good brand but one that represents good value for money too in terms of initial cost as well as on going costs with the replacement filters/salts.

Can anyone recommend systems for each purpose?

With regards to the drinking water filter, do systems usually come complete with a tap specifically for the system or can you buy any drinking water tap for any filtered water system (i.e. mix and match)?

For extra bonus points, is there a good drinking water filter system that has a built in boiling water option too? (I've already purchased my main kitchen tap which doesn't have a boiling tap feature and I don't want a separate 3rd tap just for boiling water. Therefore, if I can't get a filtered drinking water with a boiling water feature then I'd rather not have one at all)

alan_d

Suggest you look at the Britta filter taps (which have a 3rd tap for filtered water) and TapWorks water softeners for the rest of the house. 

tallac

alan_d said:

Suggest you look at the Britta filter taps (which have a 3rd tap for filtered water) and TapWorks water softeners for the rest of the house. 

Thanks, but I already have a main kitchen tap that I don't want to replace. I just want a small single tap that dispenses filtered water. A small drinking tap like the ones you find at gyms and leisure centres would be perfect.

silvercar

We have a water softener and a reverse osmosis filter. So the water is all softened and then the drinking water passes through a reverse osmosis filter and into a drinking water tap.
I didn’t want to have a bypass from the water softener to the kitchen tap for drinking water as that would leave the kitchen sink and kettle with limescale.

tallac

silvercar said:

We have a water softener and a reverse osmosis filter. So the water is all softened and then the drinking water passes through a reverse osmosis filter and into a drinking water tap.
I didn’t want to have a bypass from the water softener to the kitchen tap for drinking water as that would leave the kitchen sink and kettle with limescale.

My plan is to have two separate taps at the sink. The main tap will be a hot/cold mixer and the water for that will have come from the water softener that is connected at the very start of the house water supply. The filtered drinking water tap will get the water supply from a bypass of the softener, while the actual filter system will be in the cabinet just under the drinking tap. Thus, there's no need to remove the extra salts from the drinking water supply.

tallac

alan_d said:

Suggest you look at the Britta filter taps (which have a 3rd tap for filtered water) and TapWorks water softeners for the rest of the house. 

I just pulled the trigger on a Brita filter tap kit (it's a basic tap that just does filtered water). This will complement my existing kitchen tap which I didn't want to replace.

Are you able to give any more info on the TapWorks water softener system? What about it makes you recommend it?

Doc_N

fs13jfw said:

Harvey and Kinetico are the best brands you can get! they do both drinking water systems and water softeners. I had a Kinetico Premier Compact and Then a K2 drinking water system installed and never looked back. There is a good company in They have good deals online but I managed to call direct and get a great quote and deal - worth a try 

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