Installing a water softener in your home is the perfect way to unlock the benefits of softened water. However, there are several considerations to bear in mind when deciding which type of water softener to buy.
At Harvey™ Water Softeners, we have over 40 years of experience building the very best water softening technology. We have created this comprehensive water softener buying guide to provide you with more information about hard and softened water. We’ve covered everything you should know before buying a water softener.
If you have any questions, get in touch or book a free, no-obligation demo for a home visit from a qualified technician who can explain how a softener can benefit you.
In this guide:
A water softener is a device which connects to your plumbing system at an easy access point, like underneath a kitchen sink. It removes the calcium and magnesium minerals found in hard water to convert it into soft water. Using a water softener allows you to avoid many of the problems caused by using hard water, such as limescale and scum.
The perfect water softener for your home will depend on many different factors. Here are some of the things you’ll want to take into account:
Do you have a large family, or do you often find that everyone in the household needs to use water at the same time of day? You’ll need to ensure your softening system can keep up with your water usage.
A system with large pipes will need a water softener that can process water more quickly. A system with tanks in the loft will have a more constant pressure, whereas a system with a mains water supply that enters through the garage will need a different installation plan.
Many homes in the UK are supplied with hard water, with varying levels of hardness. Softening systems can cope with all hardness levels, from the minor to the most extreme. Check water hardness in your area to see if you could benefit from a water softener.
Hard water is water which contains a high volume of mineral ions due to how the water has travelled through the Earth. Hard water is widespread across the UK due to our climate and the geological composition of our landscape.
Rainfall is formed of naturally soft water. But when rainfall travels through the ground, it sometimes picks up minerals along the way – leading to hardened water.
The minerals in hard water include magnesium and calcium, which makes it hard to form a soap lather. This can often make water seem cloudy and is responsible for causing limescale to form.
Soft water, on the other hand, contains little or no dissolved calcium or magnesium and forms a soap lather much more easily. As no salts are present, naturally soft water does not contribute to the formation of limescale. This is the main difference between hard water and soft water.
You may be familiar with the telltale signs and negative effects of hard water:
Hard water is widespread across the entire UK, though some places have a more extreme composition than others.
To give you a better sense of the distribution of water composition in the UK, this map provides a more accurate overview.
As you can see, Wales and both North West and South West regions have the softest water, whilst most of the UK is host to hard water. It should also be noted that Northern Ireland and Scotland are naturally soft. You can also use our handy postcode tool to find out the exact hardness of the water in your area.
Water softeners work using a process called ion exchange, in which calcium and magnesium ions from hard water are exchanged with sodium chloride (salt) via a special resin. The water goes into a pressure vessel where it moves through the resin beads, and the calcium and magnesium are replaced by sodium. These calcium and magnesium ions are then removed in regeneration cycles, leaving behind only soft water.
A water softener offers several benefits to you, your home, and your appliances with soft water flowing through your pipes.
Soft water helps create more lather– meaning you use less soap, saving you money!
Enjoy water that is soft to the touch, leaving you with luxurious water to bathe in.
No scum marks means your cleaning time and effort will be reduced.
Pipes will descale over time and your hot water system will become more efficient.
Limescale will slowly diminish to help extend the lifespan of appliances, such as kettles.
No more limescale residue on your shiny surfaces, such as taps and showers.
Water softeners typically come in single cylinder or twin cylinder varieties. Water softeners rely on a two-stage process involving the separation of the calcium and magnesium ions followed by their removal through the regeneration process.
The regeneration cycle is often triggered by an electrical timer, which regenerates the system when it is not typically in use (during the night or the working day, for example). For single cylinder systems, the result after significant water use is that hard water will flow from your taps and the regeneration cycle may take 4-5 days to complete, wasting water and salt in the meantime. This challenge is removed entirely with twin cylinder systems, as it can get everything done at the same time.
Water softeners are available as electric or non-electric, with both types serving the same end purpose of softened water but operated in different ways.
All Harvey Water Softeners use a specially developed water displacement meter that only triggers the cleansing process when enough water has passed through it to make cleaning necessary. This means that the water softener only regenerates when it needs to – cutting down on salt and water wastage, and saving you money.
Learn about electric and non-electric water softeners
The cost of your Harvey™ Water Softener will vary according to the type and size you choose. However, the savings provided by a water softener can produce a payback within as little as 2 – 4 years.
We regularly receive feedback from our customers that the benefits they experience from using soft water more than justify their decision to invest in a water softener.
We can offer flexible payment options to help manage the costs more easily.
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