Water Hardness - Solutions

Poulgorm

I live in the country - no public water supply, so I rely on a bored well on my site. The water tastes well and is clean - but it is hard. Shower heads clog up, kettles have to be cleaned regularly and the copper hot water cylinder had to be replaced (leaked).

What should I do ? Seems to be 2 solutions - one is the chemical route (not keen on that one) and the other is the electrical route - various systems are advertised which seem to involve an electrical wire coiled around the pipe. Is this a gimmick, or does it really work ?

Thanks for any info.

dubdad

hi was thinking the same thing myself
could not find and real evidence or reccommendations for any of the magnetic or electric type, they are suspicously cheap(some of them that is)
until a nice canadian gave me a link to an american army engineering corp. report, and these lads did some serious scientific study on it and found that they do not work
http://www.cecer.army.mil/techreports/Hock_MagneticDescalers/Hock_MagneticDescalers.pdf

its quite techie but the conclusion is on pg34 if u want a quick glance

no exp of their use but there is a chem system i have seen a lot of plumbers in the uk reccommend, and u can fit it after your cold water mains ,before even, or just for one appliance,eg elec. shower

u should pick one up for about £80-£90 sterling and only need to refill 6mth/1yr depending on setup
refills cost about £15-£20
thinking of going this route myself, done a little research and they do seem to work well, though i would fit a y-strainer with it though as i have heard from some plumbers that the phosphate balls can break down into small bits and get into heat exchange in boilers/ showers etc
- like when u're nearly finished that boiled sweet:P

anyway hope this is some help
d

Joey the lips

I have never seen the electrical one and i am years in plumbing... I have seen the chemical one. There is nothing wrong with it and the "salts" they use are not that harsh...

Just bear a couple of things in mind...

Washing machines dont need calgon or simular they come with there own softners in powder.

Heating systems are sealed so one fill will be fine.

Shower heads and taps can be cleaned with 50% solution of vinager/ water

although dont let the vinager near the silicone seals around your shower.

nophd08

Hi All,
I got water softener fitted 6yrs ago and never looked back.
Kettle, showers etc etc all perfect. I would highly recommend going that route.
Well worth the money.