Water softener

[standardmum]

We're having a house renovated with kitchen going in over the next few weeks but live in a hard water area and wondering about a water softener.
We don't really want anything taking up masses of space in the kitchen or utility so wondering what the best options are.
Any ideas and experiences please!

I've got a Harvey's water softener in a cupboard in my kitchen. It doesn't take up too much space - it's about 20cm wide, 50 cm tall and 60 cm deep. It takes large blocks of salt, which we order in bulk and store in the garage. I absolutely love mine. We live in a hard water area and the taps, shower screen etc looked grimy with limescale within a day of cleaning, but they stay clean for much longer now. It's also much nicer to wash in, and you need far less shampoo, detergent etc.

If you get one, make sure you ask the fitter to leave you with your outdoor tap (if you have one) on mains rather than softened water, because if you need to water your garden or empty the paddling pool, your plants will definitely be happier with mains water. The fitter can also fit a kitchen tap that allows you to have mains water as well as softened water in the kitchen. Most people are fine drinking softened water, but babies and people with kidney problems shouldn't because it's slightly higher in sodium, I believe.

That's great to know- some seem bigger than that bigger than that and confirms what I was hoping in terms of softening water.
I'll take your advice for separate taps thanks

We have a water softener (ten years old now).
It's housed in a 500 mm base unit. The fitter took the cupboard base out, so it sits directly on the floor. I think it's due to the weight.
We have softened water to all outlets (washing machine, dishwasher, bathroom etc) except for the kitchen cold tap and the garden tap. We live in a very hard water area and it's been a great asset in our home.

Why leave out the garden tap? I was told plants prefer soft water... We also have a water cistern so the garden will be watered primarily from that, and the rainwater is soft. I will anyway ask if the garden tap can be left out because maybe it's daft to pay to see fern the water for the plants but I'm curious about what they are really prefer?

Another vote for a Harvey’s water softener, we have had ours for 3 years and love it. We live in a very hard water area and the difference that we have noticed is huge. No more limescale on shower screens, kitchen, my daughter’s eczema cleared up, my hair is nicer, it’s great for appliances too. We have our unit in the kitchen in a cupboard, ours is the same size as a computer unit. I’m fairly sure they can install them outside if you don’t want to install it in the kitchen but double check, I believe they can though

@standardmum We have one in a cupboard in the kitchen. I have a big kitchen! You must have the main tap in the kitchen with unsoftened water. They do cost money to run so why bother with the garden tap that’s probably mains water too.

We have had one for 35 years. DH puts salt into it but it works very well. I’d highly recommend one. I don’t think you can totally choose where they go though. It’s about where your water supply is located.