Water softeners are interesting and important devices.  Often they are misunderstood and oversold. Very often they are overpriced and overrated.

A water softener is one type of many ion exchange devices used for water improvement. It has many useful applications in water treatment. For example, it does a good job of removing moderate amounts of iron from well water if the pH of the water is low. But its most common use is the removal of the “hardness” ions calcium and magnesium that cause scale buildup in plumbing, staining of fixtures, and spotting of glassware in dishwashers. Soap does not lather well in hard water and hot water appliances experience a heavy buildup of deposits that reduces their effectiveness and shortens their lifespan. Softeners cure those problems.

As with everything in our imperfect world, however, the advantages produced by softeners are accompanied by some disadvantages. Actually, hardness minerals aren’t removed, but “exchanged” for sodium. Softened water has an elevated sodium content which can have both negative implications in terms of both health and aesthetics. Soft water is better for your plumbing, but it may not be better for your heart or your house plants. That’s why softeners are so often sold with reverse osmosis drinking water systems. The reverse osmosis unit takes out the salt that the softener puts in. Another obvious disadvantage we should mention is that with a softener you’ll have to buy big bags of salt, lug them around, and pour them into the softener’s brine tank. Many people also dislike the “slick” feel of softened water.

Softeners also have negative environmental impact. They add sodium to waste water that becomes a serious contaminant and a major recycling problem for municipal water companies.

Frankly, many people who buy softeners don’t need one. Although a water softener can change water that’s virtually unusable to something delightful, often people who have only moderately hard water are “sold” softeners (under a variety of names) by high-pressure salesman who paint fearful pictures of the ill effects of untreated water and make glowing promises of money saved on soap purchases. (The soap you’ll save won’t pay the cost of the salt you’ll buy.)

If you don’t need a water softener, we urge you not to buy one. If you need one, they will turn terrible water into something good.

But if you do buy one, be aware that you don’t have to pay £1,000.

We sell good, solid, basic softeners at a reasonable price. They use the old faithful Fleck 5600 control valve. It’s ultra-reliable and designed to perform for many years. And it’s as simple to program as the timer on your kitchen cooker. The other parts are all heavy duty standard industry stuff. Nothing trendy or irreplaceable. There are no hidden costs or extras, although we give a couple of options that make installation and operation easier.