Anyone had/looked into having a water softener installed? Pros and cons?

[shakalakaboomboom]

Just that really, asking on behalf of my mother who believes I can find the answer to everything on Mumsnet the internet.

I am looking into this as we have really hard water, but I havent got very far yet.
lets hope your Mum is right and MN can provide the answer!

We have one, it's approx 50cm high x 50cm deep x 25cm wide and sits in the broom cupboard which is where the water supply comes in to the house. Can't think of any cons other than having to occasionally lug a 25kg bag of salt tablets from the garage to the house. Topping it up is DS2's job and is really easy. You should have one tap (ideally kitchen tap) which isn't supplied via the water softener as some people don't like the taste of softened water. Other than that, can recommend it.

It's this one, it was recommended by builder and surveyor.

Thanks fresh. How often do you have to refill the salt? I think that is one of the things that's worrying mum, it's only her (66) and dad (71) at the house. They're in good health at the moment but they're planning on being in the house long term so I wouldn't want it becoming a problem for them.

fresh where did you buy yours from?

Fresh, what was the approximate cost and how much does the salt cost to keep it running?

Aargh, questions! shakalaka we refill the salt once every few weeks, but we're a family of four so two people would use less water and hence less salt. pannacotta the builder supplied it, and he got it from a local company I think. chopchop It was £718 + VAT 2 years ago, and if we spend £60 a year on salt I'd be surprised.

yes, and I would not be without one now.

Fitting as as difficult as plumbing in a washing machine for the first time.

Remember you will have to tip sacks of salt into it every month or two, so it must be easily accessible and preferably near a door. It will be very heavy when full so stand it on the floor, not inside a cabinet on the bottom shelf.

You can buy cheap ones from the DIY shed and throw them away when they break. Or, if you are in a hard-water area, look around for a company that services water softeners, and see what brand they sell and maintain. IME a good one lasts about 20 years and can be repaired.

Be sure to get one with Metered regeneration.

The magnetic ones don't work.

p.s. for an elderly user you can buy 10kg bags of salt, or even the little supermaket ones sold for dishwashers. I buy 20kg sacks that work out cheaper, but are heavy to lift up and pour in. It must be special pure granulated salt, not kitchen salt or pavement salt.

WE have this one

www.atlantis-uk.com/

Our independent plumber supply place only recommend this one as it is so reliable and comes with a 10 year guarantee.

Uses a large bag of salt tablets about every month - family of 5/6 which costs £8.60.

Absolutely love it, reduces bathroom and kitchen cleaning massively, use minimal clothes washing powder etc. My shower screen looks clean just by blading it down everyday whereas beforehand after 2 days it no longer looked clean

I grew up with soft water and limescale marks really really bug me, but no more do I endure them

Thanks everyone, sounds like it'll be worth going ahead for them. The ongoing cost of the salt will def be offset by not having to replace knackered kettles.

Don't need to buy limescale remover like limelite anymore either

Best £650 I have ever spent

we have a kinetico one, the salt comes in two long rectangular tablets which I would think are easier to manage than the large bags. second the poster who said have a separate tap installed for drinking water, unless you like your tea to have a faint hint of salt !

there should never be any trace of salt in the water. If there is, the machine is faulty and needs repair. The salt is used to regenerate the resin in the cylinder, which absorbs calcium from the water. At the end of the periodic regeneration cycle, the resin is rinsed and flushed to remove any residual salt.

The softened water contains a tiny amount of Sodium Bicarbonate (as found in indigestion remendies, bread and cakes) which is exchanged for the limescale content of the incoming water, but no salt.

For the kettle water, what tap would you use if your tab is seperate from the water softener? Do you have two taps?

You either don't have the cold tap in your kitchen linked to the softened water or you have 2 taps - one softened and one not softened. We have our tap linked to the softened water and then a seperate drinking tap that is connected via a 6 month filter cartdridge so we no longer have a brita jug hanging around the kitchen side

I fill my kettle with softened water from the hot tap. There are some namby-pambies who claim that it is not oxygenated and they can taste the difference in their tea. Since dissolved gases come out of water when it is heated before it reaches boiling point, I reckon that's not true.

Don't use Rainsoft

Guaranteed for life and if you move it will go with you

What they don't tell you after the £1200 initial cost is that they ask for £80 a year for a maintenance check and it doesn't work

not to mention it conveniently recharges at night so it doesn't interfere with your water usage but instead interferes with your sleep when the bloody 'salt empty' alarm wakes you up at 5am

We have just ripped ours out and given it to someone else to use as spare parts for their also broken one.

sorry went off into a bit of a rant there

We also had a Kinetico, about £1000 installed () but with a non-softened drinking water tap plus filter on it. My outdoor garden tap is non-softened, too. It's all plumbed so we can take it with us should we move.

As stated, it uses block salt (20 blocks for £80 off ebay), a pair of blocks last us 10 days.

We were hoping we'd see improvements in DS2's eczema but, tbh, we didn't, but we know our Megaflo cylinder will never lime-scale up and gradually the softened water will de-limescale the radiators.

Be aware that, after using hard water to shower etc, the slightly slimy feel of softened water can take a bit of getting used to. If I do a quick post-gardening hand wash in the sink, I often rinse with the drinking water tap as it gets the soap off far more quickly!

I am not entirely sure I'd spend my last £1000 on it, tbh but I don't actively regret it.

Note Kinetico have no moving parts so no compulsory 'after sales', it uses no electricity and only replenishes when it needs to. All you get is a whoosh of water as it 'back-washes' itself, using 17 litres of water. And you'll never need salt or rinse-aid in your dishwasher again (ignore the lights!); you do use less soap and detergent, too.

One more PS (I'll shut up in a minute!)

The cartridges for the non-softened drinking water mean the water in that tap stops flowing once the filter is 'used up'. They cost £30 each..... and we get through 3 or so a year cos DH drains 100 litres from a fish tank and replenishes it every fortnight, using that tap and filter. We have to drive 20 miles to a supplier to get more.

Obvs you don't need to filter your drinking water tap, but if you do...

ampere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our salt costs £8 for 6 weeks and filter cartridge change every 6 months.

Have you seen these for excema sufferers I have one you can have FFP if you want?

www.pureshowers.co.uk/eczema_shower_filters.php?gclid=CJbQ1bG8xq8CFWwntAodpHNMYg

I have a kinetico softener and a filter for drinking water (separate pipe and tap so water not softened). Have had water filter for 20 years and softener for 18 years. I live in London where the water is very hard and very heavily chlorinated.

I wouldn't be without either and consider the original investment very worthwhile.

Yep we have yucky Thames water too, I have waited 20 years for this!!! Grew up in a soft water area and have never got used to the limescale and gunge and orange grout...

we had a water softener that we ripped out because of the noise it made in the middle of the night, when it would do its backflushing thing for an hour. ridiculous. Your kettle will still be furry because you will need to use unsoftened water in kitchen tap. But you will use less shampoo, soap, washing powder!