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Q: Why do I have hard water coming through my taps?
A: It’s a question of geography! 60%+ of the UK consists of limestone of one sort or another – chalk is a very pure form of limestone – and when rainwater – which is naturally soft – falls on to limestone and runs down through the rocks, the water dissolves minerals in the limestone and when it makes its way to our taps, the ‘hardness’ minerals – calcium and magnesium are still in the water.
Q: Is hard water dangerous or hazardous to my health?
A: No it’s not dangerous. Loads of people drink it, cook with it, bathe in it and use heated hard water to heat their homes! It’s just a massive nuisance. From a lifestyle point of view its not nice – hair and skin never really feel clean, clothes – particularly towels – can feel a bit like sand paper after a few washes – they retain small crystals of limescale – that’s why they feel rough. If you live in a hard water area of the country simply take a look in your kettle! That will tell you why limescale is a pain! And if it forms like that in places where you can see it – imagine what its doing in places where you can’t see it – your heating system, your dishwasher and washing machine! Mmm! It’s a worry!
Q: Are water softeners expensive? Can I do without one?
A: It’s a ‘one off’ investment a bit like a dishwasher or washing machine, but the difference is that a water softener will give you a great payback. It can pay for itself in two to four years depending upon the hardness of your water, the maintenance costs its saves you and the money you will save on soaps and detergents and shampoos. With soft water you need far, far less of all these products to achieve clean and shiny hair, clothes and dishes! And having soft water will make your heating system more efficient too, with no limescale build up starting to block pipes and radiators and reducing the heat output of your boiler. You should notice the amount of gas or oil you use to power your heating system going down – which at the moment is a really worthwhile result from having a water softener installed.
Q: But what about the upheaval of having a water softener installed? What about the mess?
A: You’ll hardly notice the work taking place. All the installer will need is access to your mains water supply, drainage, perhaps an electrical power point and a location for your softener – in the kitchen, utility room or perhaps the garage? It’s very simple and makes virtually no mess.
Q: I’ve heard that electronic water softeners are complicated to use?
A: No – they’re really simple. Once they are installed and set up for you virtually all you have to do is occasionally add salt to help the unit to regenerate from time to time. Everything else is controlled for you. The joy of an electronic water softener is that its actually more energy and salt efficient than a non-electronic one, so you get the best of all worlds with an electronic unit.
Q: If I have a water softener installed, how quickly will I notice any difference?
A: Very quickly! The next time you wash or wash your hair, get clothes out of the washing machine – you’ll notice! And over a short period of time you’ll start to notice other things around the house – the shower screen will stop scaling up, kettles will stop furring up. And when you next get a gas or oil bill you’ll see that the heating system is using less fuel to power it. Very few people say they notice a difference if they have a new boiler installed. Pretty much everyone who has a water softener installed notices immediately and within a week are totally converted.
Q: When’s the best time to have a water softener installed?
A: Because they are relatively simple to install you can do this whenever suits you. But many people have one installed when they have a new kitchen or bathroom installed – to help keep their new investment sparkling and looking like new. Others have one installed when they have discovered major lime scale build up problems in their heating system. Often their plumber or heating installer will recommend one if the heating system has failed due to the hardness of the water flowing around it.
Q: You say I can save money by having a water softener installed. How much?!
A: Good question. It will depend on the size of your family of course. British Water – an independent group – reckon that the average four person family in a hard water area spends between £200-£250 more on washing powders, detergents, soaps and shampoos and conditioners in a year than a family with a water softener fitted. Having a water softener fitted will reduce your heating bills by at least 10% which in this day and age is a significant saving. In addition, having a water softener will extend the life of any appliance that has water flowing through it – your washing machine, your dishwasher, your kettle! How much you save on maintenance will depend on how long you put up with appliances and your heating system not working properly!!
Q: That all sounds great but can I drink softened water? I’ve heard that sodium in softened water can be bad for you?
A: It’s not a problem for most of us – and many, many people do drink softened water. In some of the harder water areas of the UK the water company does a degree of softening themselves before it arrives through the taps!
An adult who drinks 4 pints of softened water a day would only add 310mg of sodium to their daily intake – that’s less than 9% of the average daily total. Many natural and manufactured foods and drinks contain sodium – for example two slices of bread contain 350mg! More than you get from 4 pints of water.
Q: I have to put salt into the softener regularly. What kind of salt and is it easy to get it?
A: Only salt recommended for water softener regeneration should be used. Softeners use tablet salt or Block salt which is easy to store and transport. It is readily available from garden centres, DIY Stores and plumbers merchants – but your local dealer will happily supply this for you – and deliver it to your door if you like.
