Whole-house water filter that is salt-free ?

[DuraLexSedLex]

I would like a plumber to install a whole-house water filter that is salt-free.
The filter will be installed where the mains water arrives in the house.

Our plumber indicates these two filters from UKWaterFilters :
• The WH16COMB has an input capacity of 16 l/min, is for 3 or 4 bedrooms.
• The WH32COMB has an input capacity of 32 l/min, is for 4+ bedrooms.

What experience do you have with any of these two filters ?

Our house has :
• Four occupants.
• A gravity-fed water system.
• Two showers with pumps and no bathtub.
• A flow rate of about 16 l/min at the tap in the garden.
• A water hardness of about 165 mg/l CaCO3 (moderately hard).

A filter does not use salt, it removes particulate matter. It does not reduce hardness.

Water softeners use salt, but do not put salt into the drinking water.

"Conditioners" with magnets work by magic, and only if you believe in them.

What are your objectives?

The objectives are to protect against :
• Limescale accumulation in the home's water system.
• Chlorine and certain contaminating substances.

I am watching with extreme interest as we will be doing this for our newbuild house. Because we are not on mains sewage the rules are rather different.

The brine discharged from a water softener would disrupt the aerobic/anaerobic bacteria in our treatment tank so the manufacturer advises against it . We can't discharge to an outside drain because of Environment Agency rules concerning the environment. Therefore the whole house filter looks well worth it.

You’ll need a softener and a filter.

You need a softener to help prevent limescale. These all use salt. Other solutions are marketed (such as the magnetic one PigletJohn refers to ) but there isn’t much evidence they work.

You can get your plumber to install the softener so that the water you drink (from eg kitchen tap, any fridge water dispenser) bypasses the water softener, so you are not drinking softened water. This is recommended for many reasons, including that your body needs some of the minerals that softeners remove.

You need a water filter to reduce chlorine and other unwanted chemicals. This can be installed so that it only filters your drinking water supply points (if you try to filter the whole house you’ll be going through filter cartridges hand over fist). Some kitchen taps can be installed with an in built filter (we have this). Some fridges offer a water dispenser with in built filter. Or you can get a separate filter and plumb it in.

We actually have bought the WH16COMB one but it’s not being installed until later in the month so I can’t say how effective it will be. It uses a method called template assisted crystallisation to stop limescale forming. Personally I think even if it’s not quite as effective as salt softening it’s worth a slight decrease in efficiency for it to work on the water that’s going into all our kitchen appliances, be drinkable, and not have to take up as much space as a salt one (or the bags of salt).

I have used two water softeners in different houses.

I am looking for a system that requires less maintenance.

The originally-mentioned filters do not have magnets.

Less maintenance than what?

Not less maintenance than cleaning the calcium deposits and soap scum off everything.

I tip a sack of salt into mine about once a month. I have it delivered twice a year. It is wisely in the garage so no need to carry salt through the kitchen.