Harvey’s water softener, is it worth it?

herbalme

Hi all,

I’m considering getting a Harvey’s water softener along with their drinking water filter system, but after reading reviews online I’m a bit undecided.

A lot of people seem very happy with the performance and the improvement in water quality, but there are also mixed reviews about the high price and after-sales service. I’ve seen quotes of £2,000–£3,000+ including installation, which is a significant investment.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has had one installed:

• Has it been reliable?
• Do you feel it was worth the cost?
• How expensive is it to run (salt/filter replacements)?
• How has the customer service been if you’ve needed support?
• Are there better-value alternatives I should consider?

I’m particularly interested in real-world experiences before making a decision.

Thanks in advance!

silvercar

I can’t comment on Harvey’s in particular, but my view on water softeners in general is that they are good.

1. Better tasting water
2. Less wear and tear, due to no limescale, on appliances
3. You will find you use less toiletries eg shampoo, shower gel and household products eg washing machine liquids as a result
4. Easier to clean sinks and showers due to no limescale. No need to buy limescale cleaning products like viakal.
5. No time spent scrubbing limescale off surfaces.

We had a reverse osmosis filter for a drinking tap for many years. No problem with it other than needing the filters changed every 6 months (around £60 to get someone to do it, £15+ if you can do it yourself). When we rejigged the kitchen we got rid of the RO tap and we now drink descaled water as it’s now allowed by the authorities. We have a by pass on the connections, so we can have unsoftened water out the tap if we would need and the garden tap remains as the one tap with unsoftenend water.

Rodders53

• @silvercar My wife and granddaughter would beg to differ on the water taste and loathe the softened.

• Myself? I can taste a difference between the hard water and softened if done side by side but have no real preference (I have a party trick of offering two glasses for trades people to sample and see what they prefer).

As the softener is in attached garage the whole house is softened so I have to refill plastic / glass bottles for drinking and tea making. A separate 'hard' tap is still advised where possible. {Infants and low sodium diet people should not drink softened, although it is safe for almost everyone else.}

• Our TwinTec unit went wrong at nine years old and the brine tank overflowed / ate salt (until we noticed). The installing supplier took it away to rebuild it free of charge (under the warranty) and its as good as new. Even though the original softener purchaser had sold the home to us. {Beds area.}
  I doubt the warranty is as good as that nowadays (parts only probably).

They need no maintenance.

Salt blocks vary in price quite a lot. We are lowish water users so 10 packs of 2x4kg blocks last us nearly two years. We buy from the supplier and, while maybe not the cheapest, it is delivered in and stacked near the softener for free. I'll need to get another 10 this summer.

Mutton_Geoff

Harvey's are an expensive hard sell commission based marketing company that just happen to have water softeners in stock.

A softener is a great device, just don't pay way over normal retail for one.