Treating Hard Water

Last time the boiler was serviced the plumber recommended fitting something to prevent scale build up.

The boiler hasn't had anything to help for the last 4 years and the hot and cold flow are about the same. I was told that means the boiler element is not too badly scaled at the moment.

The most costly and effective solution seems to be fitting a water softner, but I don't have the finances for that at the moment. Plus it would involve dismantling part of the kitchen to install it.

Plumber also recommended a device attached to the electric which surrounds the feed pipe. Or something which you allow the water to flow through - involves cutting pipe and compression fit on feed pipe. I assume these two solutions work using magnetism.

Are there any other options? Will magnetism make any difference, or is the only solution to get a water softner someday?

The only way to really help on the cheap is to fit a water scale inhibitor that has its cartridge (or what ever) changed annually, eg Sentinel Combiguard as an example only.

There are several other good makes out there.

Be watchful of these electronic ones - they do not work, I have tried several, some with clients and my own home has the Hydroflow attached to the balanced hot and cold supply to bathroom. Its does not appear to be doing an awful lot for scale forming on taps and shower screens.

I plan on turning it off soon; and seeing what happens; but the last two years performancehas not been too impressive.

Once, I took the view that magnetic fields applied to water were unlikely to do much of anything to it, so were not going to act as 'softeners'. Then boiler manufacturers started to demand 'scale reducers' fitted to their boilers, so I fitted them. Then it was pointed out that there are TEMPORARY and PERMANENT effects in the real world and the magnetic things might be causing a temporary effect on water (or on the calcium salts dissolved in it) so that scaling of heat exchangers might be reduced.

Best advice about magnetic scale reducers seems to be:
- they are NOT water softeners,
- they probably DO have 'a temporary effect' on hard water that changes the way limescale is deposited, so that it somes out of the tap along with the water instead of sticking in layers to important bits of the boiler.
- if you fix the thing exactly according to manufacturers instructions, it may work and if it doesn't you can always go for false advertising claims, Sale of Goods Act, etc. - and even get your money back! Since there have been very few successful actions, there must be some benefit in at least some of the gadgets.
- the 'siliphos' type of scale reducers are completely different - a tiny amount of chemical is added to the water which prevents scaling. Definitely DO work so long as kept replenished with crystals.
- if you have any kit that has mains water held at high temperature above 75C degrees (eg. a heatstore with a coil in it for hot water) a siliphos gadget or proper, full-on water softener are the only devices which will prevent scaling.