Water Softeners in Hard Water Areas
Hampshire and Surrey supplies are generally hard, which is why kettles fur and shower screens spot.
Hampshire and Surrey supplies are generally hard, which is why kettles fur and shower screens spot. A softener removes hardness minerals by ion exchange and protects heat exchangers, elements and valves.
What it protects
Boiler and cylinder heat exchangers, electric shower elements, thermostatic cartridges and every seal that scale grinds away at.
Installation requirements
A drain for regeneration, a power supply, a hard water drinking tap retained at the kitchen sink, and a bypass so the house can run if the unit is isolated.
Ongoing
Salt top-ups and occasional checks. A softener that has run out of salt is silently doing nothing.
Protect your system from scale
If you are replacing a boiler in a hard water area, that is the sensible moment to discuss softening or scale reduction.
Questions we get asked
Is softened water safe to drink?
Practice is to keep a hard water tap at the kitchen sink for drinking and food preparation.
Will it remove existing scale?
Gradually, in some cases. Its real job is preventing further build-up.
Does it help the heating system?
It protects the hot water side particularly. The sealed heating circuit is treated with inhibitor instead.