London is famously a hard water area.
It’s a badge of dishonour and leaves our kettles, sink sides and showers encrusted with unsightly limescale that only shifts after being doused with chemical-laden cleaning products.
Unless you’ve never left the M25 boundary, you’ve probably noticed how much softer water is elsewhere. It tastes purer and leaves hair and skin feeling soft, instead of needing buckets of lotion and serum to bring back to life.
What’s the difference between hard and soft water?
Hard water occurs when rain, which is soft, passes through porous rock and picks up minerals like magnesium and calcium along the way. These impurities can lead to a build-up of limescale in your home’s plumbing and various water-using appliances: think kettles, washing machines and dishwashers.
Aside from looking unhygienic, it can affect the performance of household appliances and in extreme cases, stop them from working altogether. If there’s limescale in your pipes, it could affect your plumbing - and we all know how much boilers cost to repair.
It may feel like the only options are to either lump it or up sticks, but we’re here to tell you there is another way. By investing in a water softener.
What is a water softener, exactly?
These devices convert hard water back to soft, attaching to the water supply to solve the issue before it enters your pipes and appliances. They work by filtering water through resin beads which are high in sodium ions, trapping the nasty stuff (calcium and magnesium) for good.
The downside is that these beads only last for a limited time, but once they’re depleted, the device should ‘wash’ the ion in a brine solution that eliminates the bad minerals so that the beads are ready to go again.
Are water softeners expensive?
It’s a hard-working box that could save you a bundle in the long run, so they don’t come cheap. That said, they will stop limescale building up in your plumbing, and if that means you’ll avoid a boiler breakdown, we say that’s money well spent. Plus, you won’t have to keep replacing your kettle or washing machine either.
How to shop for a water softener
Before you start shopping for one, there are a few things to consider - aside from budget.
- Size: a smaller home that uses less water than a big family will require a smaller capacity, and vice-versa. Getting the right capacity water softener for your home could bring down the cost considerably.
- Storage: a water softener isn’t the most attractive-looking thing in the world so you’ll probably want to store it out of sight, under the kitchen sink or a similarly out-of-the-way place. Make sure you’ve got the room before you commit to the purchase.
- Type: options include timed, metered and non-electric, the last of which is likely the best option as it works with water pressure, supplying soft water as and when it is required. If rising bills are a concern, look for energy-efficient models to keep running costs as low as possible.
- One final thing: before you buy, check that the model you go for complies with UK water regulations and has the green light from the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS) to ensure you’ve covered all bases.
We’ve rounded up the top-performing water softeners to help you decide which is right for you and your home.
Shop the best below
BWT WS555 Hi Flow Electronic Demand Block/Tablet Water Softener, Blue
Size: 48 x 27 x 60.2cm
This compact 14L water softener is designed to sit under the kitchen sink, hiding it neatly out of sight. It comes with an installation kit so you can avoid costly plumbers and attach it yourself. The machine offers smart water monitoring for heightened efficiency and it can be controlled electronically too, allowing you to adjust it to your household’s needs. If there is existing limescale clogging up your pipes, BWT says the new soft water will break it down, averting a crisis.
Best of all, water and salt usage is on the low side, which should make a positive impact on your water bills.
Buy now £522.49, Amazon
Water2Buy EASY W2B200 Water Softener
Size: 52.5L x 22W x 65Hcm
Generating an astonishing 1250 litres of soft, clean water every day, this is an excellent option for larger households of up to six people. It comes with a digital meter so you can keep an eye on the salt and water consumption. The meter also monitors water usage and only regenerates when it’s needed - and does so in the early hours to avoid impacting regular water use. How’s that for efficiency?
The softener is on the larger side, so best off in a basement, the garage or a large cupboard, though it does require mains power so ensure you’re putting it near a plug point. A pre-fitted bypass valve is included to keep up the water pressure and set up can be done yourself by using the free Water2Buy easyConnect app.
Buy now £551.99, Water2Buy
HELLO KLEAN Purifying Shower Head
Best for: leading the pack
Hard water can wreak havoc on your skin and hair - and so Dragons Den alum HELLO KLEAN is here to help. Its collection of tools, body and haircare are created with the sole intention of turning hard water into a composition that’s kinder to the skin and strands.
The shower head was created to make a simple switch from your existing plumbing. It couldn’t be easier to fit: just screw it in. The built-in filters remove chlorine, impurities and heavy metals from your hygiene practices using an advanced system that calls on amino acids, activated carbon fibre and KDF 55 (used specifically for removing water-soluble metals).
Not only that but it’s designed to save water in the process so should ease those ever-increasing household bills.
Buy now £65.00, Cult Beauty
Waterdrop 10UA Under Sink Water Filter System
Size: 9.1L x 9.1W x 31.2Hcm
Simply connect this device to the cold water supply under your kitchen sink, and get ready to drink pure, clean, filtered water in less than five minutes flat. The twist-and-lock system makes it simple to fit, and it’s easy to change the filter once it needs replacing too - which should be a yearly thing in a typical domestic situation.
The filter strips water of unwelcome chemicals and scents, turning tap water into H20 that tastes like mineral water - so no need to buy expensive bottles any longer! Past customers were impressed with both how easy the filter system is to fit as well as the quality of the water produced. Waterdrop’s design is perfect for improving drinking and cooking water, but if you’re looking for a softener that will work for your showers as well, you may be better off with another model in our list.
Buy now £59.49, Amazon
Kube I Non-Electric Water Softener - For Households with up to 2 Bathrooms
Size: 49.2 x 23.5 x 42.5cm
Designed for larger homes with up to two bathrooms, KUBE’s I water softener offers a hard water solution for every water point in the house, from the bathroom to the kitchen and accessories. The design is small enough to slot neatly into under-sink cupboards, and is WRAS-certified, offering extra peace of mind.
The non-electric design means there’s nothing to plug in (and no extra burden on your mains power either), making it a win for value-for-money. The only maintenance you’ll need to do to keep it working is add salt into the compartment. Easy peasy.
Buy now £679.00, Homebase
Waterdrop G3 Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System
Size: 46L x 14.5W x 44.5Hcm
Watch your daily water consumption shoot up once you’ve fitted Waterdrop’s tankless filtration system to your cold water supply. The machine works by using reverse osmosis and removes unwanted minerals from liquid - think chromium, fluoride, arsenic salt, iron, radium nitrate, calcium, particles, chloride, chlorine and heavy metals like hexavalent chromium, as well as limescale-causing magnesium and calcium. Hydrating yourself has never been tastier.
An activated carbon block made from coconut shell is also part of the design and works to improve the taste of tap water. The highly efficient water flow means you can enjoy clean, filtered water in seconds.
Buy now £549.98, Waterdrop
