Our guide to buying a water softener

We have created this comprehensive water softener buying guide to provide you with more information about hard and softened water.

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Whole house softening
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Uninterrupted soft water
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Things to know before buying a water softener

At Harvey™ Water Softeners, we have over 40 years of experience in building the very best water softening technology. We have created this comprehensive water softener buying guide to provide you with more information about hard and softened water.

The following are some key things you should know before buying a water softener, and will be covered for you in this guide. If you do have any more questions, you can get in touch with our team or book a free, no obligation demo where a qualified technician will visit your home and talk you through how the softener will work for you.

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What is a water softener?

A water softener is a device which connects to your plumbing system at an easy access point, like underneath a kitchen sink. It removes the calcium and magnesium minerals found in hard water to convert it into soft water. Using a water softener allows you to avoid many of the problems caused by using hard water.

Water softeners work using a process called ion exchange, in which calcium and magnesium ions from hard water are exchanged with sodium chloride (salt) via a special resin. The water goes into a pressure vessel where it moves through the resin beads, and the calcium and magnesium are replaced by sodium. These calcium and magnesium ions are then removed in regeneration cycles, leaving behind only soft water.

Learn more about how a water softener works
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How do I find the perfect water softener?

The perfect water softener for your home will depend on many different factors. Here are some of the things you’ll want to take into account:

How often does my water usage change?
For example, do you have family that come to stay, or do you often go away at weekends?

How much water do I use?
Do you have a large family, or do you often find that everyone in the household needs to use water at the same time of day?

What sort of plumbing do I have?
A system with large pipes will need a water softener that can process water more quickly. A system with tanks in the loft will have a more constant pressure, whereas a system with a mains water supply that enters through the garage will need a different installation plan.

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    What is hard water?

    Hard water is water which contains a high volume of mineral ions due to how the water has travelled through the Earth. Hard water contains magnesium and calcium minerals, which makes it hard to form a soap lather. This can often make water seem cloudy and is responsible for causing limescale to form. Soft water, on the other hand, contains little or no dissolved calcium or magnesium and forms a soap lather much more easily. As no salts are present, soft water does not contribute to the formation of limescale. This is the main difference between hard water and soft water.

    More information
    Is hard water making
    your life hard?
    Test the mineral content in your home’s water.

    If it’s 100ppm or above, a water softener can help you avoid limescale buildup and improve skin and hair health.

    * PPM stands for parts per million and indicates the concentration of dissolved limescale minerals like calcium and magnesium in water.

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    parts per million*
    0 100 200 300 400
    Soft Hard Very Hard

    Unfortunately we do not have data for your area but you could still benefit from a water softener.

    How-a-water-softener-works

    How does a water softener work?

    Water softeners work using a process called ion exchange, in which calcium and magnesium ions from hard water are exchanged with sodium chloride (salt) via a special resin. The water goes into a pressure vessel where it moves through the resin beads, and the calcium and magnesium are replaced by sodium. These calcium and magnesium ions are then removed in regeneration cycles, leaving behind only soft water.

    Find out more

    The Benefits of a Water Softener

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    01

    Fewer products

    Creating more lather means you use less soap, saving you money!

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    02

    Soft on skin

    Enjoy water that is soft to touch, leaving you with luxurious water to bathe in.

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    Less time cleaning

    No scum marks mean your cleaning time will be reduced.

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    Cheaper bills

    Pipes will scale over time and your hot water system will become more efficient.

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    Longer lasting appliances

    With softened water scale will slowly diminish, extending the lifespan of appliances.

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    Shinier home

    No more limescale residue on your shiny surfaces.

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    Types of water softener

    Single cylinder or Twin cylinder?

    Water softeners typically come in either single cylinder or twin cylinder varieties. When you require a large amount of soft water, perhaps for a big wash after a family meal, you will find the single cylinder system struggles to keep up with demand. Water softeners rely on a two-stage process involving the separation of the calcium and magnesium ions followed by their removal through the regeneration process. When single cylinder systems are forced to treat large amounts of water, the regeneration cycle has trouble keeping up.

    Usually, the regeneration cycle is triggered by an electrical timer, which regenerates the system when it is not typically in use (during the night or the working day for example). The result is that hard water will flow from your taps and the regeneration cycle may take 4-5 days to complete and it will waste water and salt in the process. Twin cylinder water softeners work off pressure and can regenerate continuously.

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    Electric or Non-Electric?

    Electric water softeners (or electronic water softeners) use an electric timer. At a set time, usually once a day, the timer tells the water softener to flush the resin bed with water and salt, so it can continue softening water. This means that at times the resin bed is cleansed before it’s necessary, therefore wasting both salt and water.

    Some makes of electric water softener come with just a single tank, this works fine until the time comes for it to regenerate. It can take some time to complete the process – during that period there’s no output of softened water, so you will have a proportion of hard water running through your system. The Harvey dual cylinder system maintains the softened water supply 24/7 because when one cylinder is regenerating, the other continues softening.

    Non-electric water softener systems, like Harvey models, work on a geared, throughflow model rather than an electric timer. The water displacement meter in a Harvey water softener has been developed so that it only triggers the cleansing process when enough water has passed through it to make cleaning necessary. This means that the water softener only regenerates when it needs to – avoiding salt and water wastage and thus saving money.

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    How much does a water softener cost?

    The cost of your Harvey™ Water Softener will vary according to the type and size you choose. However, the savings provided by a water softener can produce a payback within at little as 2 – 4 years. We also regularly receive feedback from our customers that the benefits they experience from using soft water more than justified their decision to invest in a water softener.

    We can provide you with a free quote for a water softener, and we also offer a lot of flexibility in regards to payment options available or if you’d simply like to have a no-obligation demonstration.

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    1. Learn more about it’s features and our current offers
    2. Discover how a Harvey water softener works
    3. Book your free, no-obligation in-home or virtual demo

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