Water Softeners
Discussion
We put one in our new place and they are superb.
The benefits:
No limescale on the shower screen/sink/taps etc so easy clean.
shampoo last forever and a bubble bath is never the same!
If you suffer from exma (no idea how to spell it, the skin problem type thing) then it will heal it!!
Washing machines etc should last longer
Only down side is buying salt, £5 for a large bag lasts around 6 weeks i think?
Just make sure 1 tap is not connected to the waltersoftener for drinking water.
How do they work? Basicaly the water flows against lots of resin balls that accumulate the limescaly stuff, then in the early hours of the morning when you are not using the softner, it flushes the resinballs with salt to rid them of their limescaly stuff ready for the next day, not a technical answer but best i can give!!
The benefits:
No limescale on the shower screen/sink/taps etc so easy clean.
shampoo last forever and a bubble bath is never the same!
If you suffer from exma (no idea how to spell it, the skin problem type thing) then it will heal it!!
Washing machines etc should last longer
Only down side is buying salt, £5 for a large bag lasts around 6 weeks i think?
Just make sure 1 tap is not connected to the waltersoftener for drinking water.
How do they work? Basicaly the water flows against lots of resin balls that accumulate the limescaly stuff, then in the early hours of the morning when you are not using the softner, it flushes the resinballs with salt to rid them of their limescaly stuff ready for the next day, not a technical answer but best i can give!!
Edited by satans worm on Thursday 5th November 15:40
Some good info there thanks. Sounds canny.
In terms of size are they a big old unit...? I guess it depends on load etc...? For us it'll be for a normal sized 4-bed home. Alos, do they make a lot of noise when "washing" or just a bit of swishing about like a dishwasher or something...?
Also, if I may be direct, what's the damage on one of these things plus the installation...?
In terms of size are they a big old unit...? I guess it depends on load etc...? For us it'll be for a normal sized 4-bed home. Alos, do they make a lot of noise when "washing" or just a bit of swishing about like a dishwasher or something...?
Also, if I may be direct, what's the damage on one of these things plus the installation...?
Roop said:
Some good info there thanks. Sounds canny.
In terms of size are they a big old unit...? I guess it depends on load etc...? For us it'll be for a normal sized 4-bed home. Alos, do they make a lot of noise when "washing" or just a bit of swishing about like a dishwasher or something...?
Also, if I may be direct, what's the damage on one of these things plus the installation...?
I have to be honest I cant remember the price, about 280 for the monach midi that I have, instalation completely unknown as it came in as part of the plumbing job in our selfbuild.In terms of size are they a big old unit...? I guess it depends on load etc...? For us it'll be for a normal sized 4-bed home. Alos, do they make a lot of noise when "washing" or just a bit of swishing about like a dishwasher or something...?
Also, if I may be direct, what's the damage on one of these things plus the installation...?
Size wise, it will fill one half of a double (800mm) cupboard, we have the workings of a brita water filter in the other half!
Noise wise, its all located in our utlility room, I have never heard it at all though.
satans worm said:
I have to be honest I cant remember the price, about 280 for the monach midi that I have, instalation completely unknown as it came in as part of the plumbing job in our selfbuild.
Size wise, it will fill one half of a double (800mm) cupboard, we have the workings of a brita water filter in the other half!
Noise wise, its all located in our utlility room, I have never heard it at all though.
Excellent thanks for the info. As ours is a new build as well I expect it'll be much more cost effective to have it go in whilst they do the first fix, not to mention neater.Size wise, it will fill one half of a double (800mm) cupboard, we have the workings of a brita water filter in the other half!
Noise wise, its all located in our utlility room, I have never heard it at all though.
This gives me some ammunition to go out and have a look at these things at least. Thanks chap...!
Had one when we moved in about 10 years ago (had been fitted 5 years earlier) and finally got rid of a couple of months ago.
The receipt for the unit showed that it cost £680, fitting was £200.
In our experience, it was the biggest waste of money the previous occupants ever spent as it never worked properly and was constantly flushing itself requiring it to be manually purged everyday.
Our plumber mentioned that the model we had (can't remember the name) was borderline scam as the firm always tried to sell an annual maintenance contract (about £150 a year) - even though there wasn't much serviceable on the unit.
He's fitted what I think is called a Salamander - about £70 and works a treat.
The receipt for the unit showed that it cost £680, fitting was £200.
In our experience, it was the biggest waste of money the previous occupants ever spent as it never worked properly and was constantly flushing itself requiring it to be manually purged everyday.
Our plumber mentioned that the model we had (can't remember the name) was borderline scam as the firm always tried to sell an annual maintenance contract (about £150 a year) - even though there wasn't much serviceable on the unit.
He's fitted what I think is called a Salamander - about £70 and works a treat.
Ferg said:
Anything wrapped around the pipe isn't a water softener.
Maybe it's a pole dancer......I'm planing on adding a softener when we do the kitchen in January. The In Laws got one installed for about £1,300
but at least it doesn't need any power as it uses the water pressure to turn the various valves for regeneration. I'm looking at something nearer £350-400 myself (not too worried if it needs power as we're having an electrician in anyway). I didn't want to buy something from B&Q, although if they are any good then I'll reconsider. I'd be installing it myself as I'm doing the rest of the plumbing (as usual 
).
I decided to prove my skeptical side regarding magnets and limescale correct. I thought it was a load of crap yet people were swearing by it.
So I spent a fiver on ebay and got some strong magnets and wrap em around my cold water pipe. Surprise surprise, they did nothing
Still the magnets came in use with the fridge. No more suffering weak magnets failing to hold stuff onto it !
So I spent a fiver on ebay and got some strong magnets and wrap em around my cold water pipe. Surprise surprise, they did nothing
Still the magnets came in use with the fridge. No more suffering weak magnets failing to hold stuff onto it !
Edited by squicky on Friday 6th November 09:13
squicky said:
So I spent a fiver on ebay and got some strong magnets and wrap em around my cold water pipe. Surprise surprise, they did nothing
But your water doesn't have arthritis In a similar vein, one of these strap-on 'get an extra 50% mileage' companies got turned over recently. They swore it worked - until a customer followed by Trading Standards did some tests and found the actual improvement to be 0%.
Going back to the magnets/limescale issue, how do they think a magnet is going to do anything to calcium carbonate?
homeimprovements said:
I always install tapworks ad11's. I have never had a problem with the 30 or so we have installed. They are fully automatic and have excellent salt usage. All my customers have been well happy with the end result and have noticed savings on , cleaners, shampoo, rinse aid etc
That's what we have , and I would have no hesitation in recomending it to others Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff