Hard Water Area

SPARTAN33

The house we bought is just over 4.5 years old, we moved in a few months back, its a semi - detatched property. My main problem is that the area in the South East we are living in is full of limescale so its top of table for hard water. Its affected our shower which looked like it had been serviced before we moved in its gone on the blink again. I was wondering whats a good reasonably priced product on the market at the moment to counter act getting rid of this lime scale would that be a water filter or softener? plus due to the fact the house does not have one already, after nearly been 5yrs built has the damage already been done to pipe work, applicances, etc by the build up of lime?

SPARTAN33

please folks I need some advice on this as the hard water is ruining plumibng the shower etc

niceirishfella

Hi Spartan,

A water softner is required. A good unit will cost you approx 7 to €800 installed - there is no cheaper alternative i'm afraid. A bag of salt is €8 ish and will last for up to one month depending on the hardness of your water.
Pm me for more - I've been through this!

franie

Has anyone heard of the "Eddy" electronic water softener on sale from the UK? Does it work - or is it a scam. Check out eddy.uk.com. I'm not selling this, I just want to know if it works!!

ronaneire

franie wrote: »

Has anyone heard of the "Eddy" electronic water softener on sale from the UK? Does it work - or is it a scam. Check out eddy.uk.com. I'm not selling this, I just want to know if it works!!

I wouldn't say it is a scam but the only real way of removing the scale from the water would be installing a softener.

OP any build up of scale that would be in the pipes and appliances would start to lessen once you fit a water softener as the water will contain sodium.

BrenCooney

just a note on price. i got one a few months ago (6), from a plumbing supplier in wexford for just €500 with all of the fittings. self installed and it is working a dream. took a few days for the header tank to fill with the softened water but was noticed immediately with sudden change in amount of suds from shampoo.

BrenC

Pimp Ninja

I have an ion exchange unit outside which recharges with bags of salt. Probably the same thing niceirishfella mentions above. Basically, mine replaces the magnesium/calcium in the water supply with sodium. Resulting in softer water running round the house.

I also have a Reverse Osmosis unit under the kitchen sink to remove the sodium from the water used in cooking/kettles etc.

My more recent concern with these is the waste water generated and our impenidng water charges/meters.

From what I have read the reverse osmosis wastes 5 litres of water for every 1 litre that you get from the tap.
The Ion Exchange unit outside also flushes itself out for a few hours every couple of nights with water wasted down the drain.

There are some softners similar to RO units that I have seen online (€200 mark) that do almost the same thing but waste no water. I am considering these as a replacement for my RO.

Ive also spoken with a friend briefly about some other types of Ion Exchange which do not waste any water but do not seem to be readily available in this country.

Finally Im also considering rainwater collection for toilets, but this is more on the water conservation side than anything to do with general softening.

I have sent some emails to the company that installed my softener, and although they replied to my initial mail they have not given me an answer on what I can do to prevent or lessen the waste water.

cnocbui

I put limescale tablets in the washing machine, salt in the dishwasher, a stainless steel immersion element in the HW cylinder, have a kettle with a gold plated element and I have 5l of vinegar on hand for everything else.

Sorted.

Pimp Ninja

cnocbui wrote: »

I put limescale tablets in the washing machine, salt in the dishwasher, a stainless steel immersion element in the HW cylinder, have a kettle with a gold plated element and I have 5l of vinegar on hand for everything else.

Sorted.

What does the vinegar do ?
I can see it lowering the pH of the water, but how will adding vinegar remove hardness ?

cnocbui

The nozzles on taps, and shower heads get encrusted over a period of months, so every now and then I use the vinegar to descale them. I keep them all finger tight so it is a doddle.

I also use it as cheap rinse aid in the dishwasher and for cleaning the showers and bath.