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The Domestic Water Softener works by passing hard water through a high quality resin which removes the hard minerals and exchanges them for soft, soluble ones. When the resin becomes exhausted it is regenerated by drawing a solution of common salt through the column. The hard minerals are then released from the resin and flushed away.
The regeneration process takes place either via a timer or a meter. A timed version basically regenerates every night or every other night, depending on the programming, at 2am, regardless of the amount of water used during that day. This basically means you are regenerating the resin regardless of whether it is exhausted or not. Metered versions measure your water consumption and set the softener to regenerate when a certain volume has passed through it - metered versions may regenerate daily, every other day, or if you are away on holiday only once a week or less. As regeneration uses salt and diverts some water to drain (circa 30 litres), the economics of regeneration are an important aspect to consider.
A 30 litre capacity softener is ideal for bigger households, offices and small industrial applications (workshops etc). For a typical house, you'd be looking at a 10 litre model, however, if you are serving multiple properties (i.e. a house and an annex) or a particularly large property (i.e. more than 5 bedrooms) then a 30 litre model may well be justified.
A water softener brings many benefits - for a start it will certainly eliminate all limescale problems, although you may well find that scale is prevalent (maybe in a higher volume) for the first few weeks after installation because the existing scale in your hot water cylinder and pipework (i.e. after the softener on your plumbing circuit) will dissolve back into the water. This is actually a good thing, because it makes heat exchangers and the like more energy efficient having less scale on them.
Once the initial stages have been overcome then cleaning baths, sinks and taps becomes a relatively painless exercise, and dishwashers will leave glasses sparkling, often without salt and much less rinse aid. Detergents in washing machines, shower gels and bubble baths can be reduced by upto 60%, reducing the cost of these products, and improving skin/hair quality just because of the fewer chemicals you are using. Many people with Exczema, Psoriasis and other sensitive skin issues comment on the benefits of using softened water for bathing.
The only point to note is you shouldn't drink softened water. Whilst it doesn't taste any different it does contain slightly higher levels of sodium due to the ion exchange process. This is minimal (if you drank softened water, you'd consume the additional salt of about two to four slices of bread per day), BUT, this may be excessive for toddlers, people with poor kidney function or high blood pressure problems.
These water softeners are manufactured using Fleck valves - these are not bespoke to us, and are easily serviced with readily available parts. We advise customers shopping for softeners to be a bit wary of expensive systems with proprietry components because they cost more initially, and you'll often get tied into unnecessary maintenance contracts AND expensive out of warranty servicing.
Finally - we assemble, pre-program and check all equipment in our workshop here. The softener programming should not be altered unless you have discussed it with us first. We do not offer installation services or routine servicing - however most plumbers will happily fit a softener at far cheaper rates than a dedicated softener firm (it's only two valves and a drain to fit). As softeners can be easily removed and put back once the initial installation has been done (i.e. without any plumbing) should a fault occur we can collect it, repair it here and return it to you.
