Water Softners

[jaynana]

Hi everyone,

i'm new in hear so first of all a hi from me.

I need some advise please re. water softners, and researching on the subject i ended up on this wonderful forum... and i can't believe i didn't join all this time!

I live in nw london where water is well, more limescale than water! couple of years after building a brand new kitchen and bathroom despite regular cleaning i can see my expensive taps and showers about to suffer permanent damage!

so i've decided that a water softner or of the like is probably the right way to go! although i hate another direct debit like i'm sure most of you would, for a regular recurring cost.

this of course is the case if i go in for a commonly found ion exchange softener.

i have read through your forum and i understand its better to go for a 2-cylinder model which also regenerates based on amount of water softened as opposed to doing it every night.


i understand that the alternative is magnetic and electric 'water conditioners'.

firstly i want to understand the pros and cons of an ion exchange softner vs a magnetic conditioner.

further, i have a hw tank and a traditional (not combination) boiler so i believe these conditioners don't work for me, as the 'conditioning' goes away with time when the water is stored in tanks!

but then i've also stumbled across this: Aqua Bion
http://www.aquabion-uk.com/products/domestic-products/#

they claim ' the treated water is not effected by time, unlike a lot of the electronic/magnetic units'

so this is compatible with my system then?

please help. all advise is really appreciated.

thx

j

 

[JohnD]

ion-exchange water softeners soften the water by removing the calcium from it.

Magnetic "conditioners" magnetise the water which magically leaves all the calcium in it but makes it think it is soft. They are effective in the same way that wearing a copper bracelet will cure rheumatism, or wearing a tinfoil hat will prevent thought-waves from satellites stealing your brain.

 

[Nige F]

Hi everyone,

i'm new in hear so first of all a hi from me.

so i've decided that a water softner or of the like is probably the right way to go! although i hate another direct debit like i'm sure most of you would, for a regular recurring cost.

this of course is the case if i go in for a commonly found ion exchange softener.

model which also regenerates based on amount of water softened as opposed to doing it every night.


please help. all advise is really appreciated.

thx

j

Hello and welcome ! Not sure why you would want a d/d for bags of tablet salt And yes , a metered regeneration model is better than a timed one ( tho` it would only regenerate every few days )I Can`t praise water softeners enough - we`re in a moderate/low hardness area but as I got a timed softener for under £200 and plumbed it myself - I would still recommend them to a retail customer @ c. £400 + plumbing - the feel of softened water in a whirlpool bath is worth it alone

 

[joe-90]

ion-exchange water softeners soften the water by removing the calcium from it.

Magnetic "conditioners" magnetise the water which magically leaves all the calcium in it but makes it think it is soft. They are effective in the same way that wearing a copper bracelet will cure rheumatism, or wearing a tinfoil hat will prevent thought-waves from satellites stealing your brain.

 

[jaynana]

ion-exchange water softeners soften the water by removing the calcium from it.

Magnetic "conditioners" magnetise the water which magically leaves all the calcium in it but makes it think it is soft. They are effective in the same way that wearing a copper bracelet will cure rheumatism, or wearing a tinfoil hat will prevent thought-waves from satellites stealing your brain.

yeah i've seen that logic before, i think in this forum itself.

surely they've got to be some good, compared to wearing a tinfoil hat to prevent thought-waves from being stolen by satellites? (i like that actually).


anyways, all recommendations seem to be towards a metered regeneration salt based softener..

what about the kitchen tap then? how do i fix a drinking water tap? its a granite worktop!

are there kitchen mixes out there which have hot/cold/drinking water? ie 3 twisty things to control what comes out the shared hole

 

[jaynana]

bit more help pls

are their water-softner compatible kitchen mixers?


i've seen lots with a filter based 3rd outlet but there are only 2 inputs.

ie, i need 3 inlets and valves: hot/cold/direct from the mains.

thx

 

[JohnD]

usually, a drinking-water tap is separate and quite small, and often has a carbon filter to take out chlorine and other chemicals.

 

[jaynana]

i know but that's what i'm trying to avoid. can't i have the drinking water as a part of the same tap?