Please tell me what brand water softener you have....

[Ntinyn]

... And do you recommend it? That's it really.

We want one and I'm confused by the all the reviews and brands. Plumber hasn't been much help on which one to buy, just said they're worth getting since we live in a very hard water area, already doing major works and are laying brand new pipes in the whole house.

A good tip is to see who your local water softener company is. Give them a ring and ask if they deliver salt, and if they sell and repair softeners (both answers should be yes). Then ask how long the guarantee is. They may well assemble their own "brand" because the parts are simple and easily obtained.

They might only repair softeners that they supply. If you buy one mail-order or from a DIY shed you might have to bin it when it breaks.

Companies who advertise in the Sunday papers or send salesmen to your home have to charge extra to cover their marketing costs.

Have salt delivered, never collect it in your own car. Look in the back of the delivery van and you will see why. It will be rusty and may have gone into holes.

Just had a look, ours is called Tapworks. It works really well, our plumber suggested it.
We have bags of salt delivered by out local Plumbers Merchant as advised by PJ. The even put them neatly in the shed.

I've been thinking about getting one as we live in a hard water area. How much salt do you need?

Ours is an Atlantis. We got a reconditioned one from their website. £280. Tis great. Our local water softener shop quoted us £1200 for a Kinetico. Ridiculous. There is a very long thread on moneysavingexpert about water softeners. Have a look if you have a spare day..... But what it boils down to is the non-wired twin chamber ones are no way worth the money.

We've got a DualFlo. It takes block salt, 1 2-block pack lasts about 1 month for a family of 5. It's non-electric.

Plumber recommended choosing a softener that uses block salt, as the packages would be vastly easier to manage than whole sacks of salt pellets.

Can't compare it to any other, because we've never had a softener before. Certainly we use less detergent and cleaning chemicals, have no lime scale problems (except in the kettle, which is filled from the unsoftened mains water kitchen cold tap). I notice a difference with my skin and hair, but not nearly as much as in areas with naturally soft water.

Just realised that we have the type that Woodstack slates. Why do you think they are not worth it?

We have a monarch high flow non electric which takes block salt. So far very happy with it and it has a 5yr manufacturer guarantee.

If your going to buy one yourself for a plumber to install make sure you get the right one for your system. E.g Combination boilers and Unvented Cylinders will require a HighFlow water softener to cope with the extra flow running through them.

Ours is an own brand one that we rent and have done for years. It's nothing fancy, and is on a timer. I'd rather have a metered one preferably non electric but I've never wanted to pay the big money we've been quoted. We use a 25kg bag of tablet salt every month.
I love it and never want to not have a softener so for us it's the best compromise.

Re. The non electric /twin chamber not being worth the big bucks - the wired ones use negligible electricity so paying much more for a non electric one is not going to save you money. The twin chambers mean that your water is still being softened when it is regenerating itself. As regeneration typically only takes an hour once a week in the middle of the night the extra cost of a twin chamber doesn't seem justifiable. They work perfectly well of course it's just a matter of whether you think the extra £500+ is worth it.

IIRC the main problem for us with an electric water softener was location, because of their size and the need for electricity. We had two convenient locations, but where there was the space there wasn't power, and vice-versa. So, on balance, the more expensive option was actually the better one for us.

Thank you everyone for your responses. Really helpful. Definitely going for one, will use your advice to decide which one. We have the electricity and space under the utility sink, so hopefully I'll find one that fits in a cupboard.