Water Softeners: Saving You Time and Money
Softened water save you time and money - studies by the British Water Quality Group show that water softening can save a 4-person household an average of £200 per year - so the water softener would "pay for itself" within 3 years of installation.
Hard water contains dissolved lime, chalk and other minerals and quickly causes scale to form on all surfaces which come into contact with it, from sinks and toilets to shower heads and taps. The unseen and potentially more costly examples of hard water are clogged pipes and failure of central heating elements/pumps.
British Water's Quality Group estimate that just 1.5mm of scale reduces the efficiency of your boiler by almost 10%.
In addition, you will use less detergents, soaps, and other cleaning chemicals as the water will lather using smaller quantities. softened water will eliminate the build-up of limescale in your pipes and on heating elements found in dishwashers and washing machines, leading to fewer expensive engineer call-outs and spare parts.
The Benefits of Having a Water Softener
- Once installed the benefits of your water softener will be immediately noticeable.
Softened water can:-
provide real cost savings in service, maintenance and replacement of water heaters, dishwashers, washing machines and showers and also extends their life
improve the efficiency of hot water and heating systems - just 1.6mm (1/16") of scale build-up in heating systems will cause a 12% loss in heating efficiency
save some 50% of washing powder and toilet soap consumption and similarly cut the use of shampoos, conditioners and cleaning products
help certain dry skin conditions such as eczema
save time - independent studies have confirmed that considerable cleaning time is saved with softened water and can, in time, remove existing scale deposits in hot water and heating systems as well as scale around taps and stains in baths and basins
has a clean silky feeling. It makes bathtime a luxury without the need for bath oils or bubble bath liquids
make hair soft and easy to manage
rinse completely away without leaving scum even after shaving
makes laundry brighter and glasses and dishes sparkle and shine
make washing the car easier and will reduce streaking and spotting. Water softeners are installed in nearly all commercial laundries, kitchens and car washes in hard water areas.
Hard water (300 mg/l as calcium carbonate equivalent) used in the average family (4 people) home each year contains 70kg (154 lbs) weight of scale. Unchecked it will cause damage and expense. It is estimated that an ion-exchange water softener could save over £200 per year for an average four-person household.
How Do I know If I have hard water?
The map below shows where in the UK has soft water - as you can seem most of England has medium - hard water but Scotland and Northern Ireland has Soft Water, with Wales being roughly a 50% split
Whilst the North West of England has what is described as Medium Hard Water (61-120mg/l of calcium carbonate), this is still hard water and the water will still benefit from being softened.
To read more about the effects of hard water, please click here.