Bathroom

With softened water, bathrooms stay cleaner and shiny for longer so they do not need scrubbing with harsh cleaning products. Of course bathing in softened water is a luxury in itself too.

Kitchen

Benefits of scale-free water are most obvious in the kitchen. Hard work and harsh cleaning products will be a thing of the past. A quick wipe over will leave your kitchen sparkling.

Scale and scum

Softened water will remove all the existing built-up scale from your plumbing work and keep it that way, which leaves you to enjoy the saving on your heating bills.

Skin and Hair

Softened water may improve certain skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dry skin. Skin will feel softer and hair will be shinier and more manageable.

Appliances

Any existing limescale built up on your kitchen appliances can be removed permanently with softened water. The elements in your kettle and dishwasher will shine like new.

Benefits of Soft Water

100 boiling cycles in hard water
100 boiling cycles in soft water
Two identical kettles used in two different households, one without a softener and one with. The results are conclusive, softened water eliminates limescale build up .



Scale and scum



Limescale is detrimental to your plumbing and appliances. Apart from looking unpleasant, it can seriously affect their performance which, in turn, costs you money. The main problem with limescale is that unless it is treated, it gets continually worse. With heating systems, the thicker the limescale, the more energy is required to heat the same amount of water.

Thickness of limescale

% energy increase
required

 
MM Inches
1.5 - 3.1 1/16" - 1/8" 15%
3.1 - 4.8 1/8" - 3/16" 25%
4.8 - 6.4 3/16" - 1/4" 39%
6.4 - 9.5 1/4" - 3/8" 55%
9.5 - 12 3/8" - 1/2" 70%

Limescale build-up can also damage your appliances through increased friction or displacement of parts.

This heat exchanger was only 30% efficient

Scaled components result in expensive repair bills

You could save 50% off your cleaning products too!

Calcium and magnesium ions in hard water react with soap to produce scum. This greatly reduces the effectiveness of the soap, as most of it is converted into scum, which leaves a white film on everything it touches.
Since soft water does not contain calcium and magnesium ions, you only need half the amount of soap.

Softened water is also much nicer to bathe in

 

Another benefit of soft water and perhaps the best of all, in many peoples opinion, is the fact that bathing in softened water is just so much nicer .

There is no scum in the water, it feels silky smooth on your skin and you do not need to use so much of your expensive bath creams and shower products. You need a mere fraction of your shampoo and conditioner for your hair, as they don't have to compete with the negative effects of hard water.

Best of all, it takes half the time to rinse round the bath or shower to clean them. This means, of course, you can spend twice as long in there.