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Will drinking softened water lower my intake of essential minerals?

We get most of our essential minerals from our food intake, not our water intake. 

Whether your water supply is hard, soft or softened, no water type can provide all or a major portion of the minerals we need. 

Many people choose to have a separate hard water tap to provide unsoftened water for drinking. But there are no legal, health or safety requirements to do this. If you choose to install a Harvey water softener, we fit a hard water drinking tap as standard, so you can choose your preferred source of drinking water. 

Drinking hard water for health 

It’s safe for almost everyone to drink softened water. The exceptions are babies and anyone who follows a low sodium or sodium-free diet on medical advice. They should drink water from a hard water drinking tap. This is recommended in the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, endorsed by the Government Regulators WRAS .

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) position on drinking softened water is: “There are no firm conclusions on whether it poses long-term health risks so no health-based guidelines are proposed.”  

In over 90 years, there has never been a reported health-related problem associated with a water softener.  

View our range of water filters – they’re all compatible with our drinking water taps. We offer both active carbon and So Clear filters, so that you can keep your water clear of unwanted minerals. Find out more today