We got one about 18 months ago. I wouldn’t be without it now!
I researched them thoroughly and went for the Harvey’s one. It wasn’t cheap at £1600 but it seemed, by far, the best. I forget all the details now (my memory is shot), but the amount/type of stone/composite whatever was far better. It also takes salt blocks rather than having to store bags of salt & fiddle about trying to get it into the machine.
You can get a three month free trial. You have to pay for it each month (under £50) but if you don’t want it they refund you once they’ve collected it and if you do want it, it comes off the amount you pay for the unit.
Installation was easy enough - well, I just watched the lovely bloke that came to donit 🤣. I think he was here about two hours. Ours is under the kitchen sink. The units are quite big.
NO MORE LIMESCALE. I’m no longer constantly trying to remove it from the taps, sink, shower heads, shower screens etc. For this alone it’s worth it.
You do need less washing up liquid/shampoo/soap etc and that does somewhat offset the price of the salt.
The salt isn’t expensive but your useage/cost will vary enormously on how much water your family uses.
It hasn’t quite had the affect on my washing machine that they say, my towels are still a bit ‘crunchy’ but I actually prefer that, do no issue there and I still sometimes use fabric softener with certain wash cycles.
...but yes, for me, the one downside (apart from the initial outlay!) is the fact it’s much harder to get the soap/shower gel off my skin, but I don’t feel greasy!). It’s a price I’m willing to pay for the benefit of not fighting limescale.
I did have one issue with it leaking, right after the warranty ended. Typically. But they said it was fine, not to worry. I thought I’d dropped one of the salt blocks into it too hard (it slipped as I was putting it in), they sent a bloke around who stripped it down, found a faulty seal, and replaced the entire ‘workings’ (one unit) no bother at all. He said they do get the odd one that goes, but it’s not terribly common and they were so good about the whole thing it really didn’t matter anyway. (I really must sort out the extended warranty!)
It’s a little bit noisy when it cleans itself, but it’s only a few minutes maybe once a day.
It definitely cleans the pipes and appliances of limescale over time - it’s fab not even thinking about limescale anymore, whereas before it was a constant chore here (south east England).
If you have any other questions I’m happy to answer them if I can. I love our Harvey, almost as much as our Henry (hoover) & Philip (senseo coffee machine) 🤣😂🤣
Promise I don’t work for them!!