Questions and answers

A water softener or water softener is actually a small-scale water treatment plant. It is placed where the drinking water enters your home. Usually this is the basement or the garage. Our Pentair devices work according to the principle of ion exchange: in a cylindrical resin bottle with resin granules, magnesium and calcium ions (so lime) are exchanged with sodium ions. After cleaning, the water is lime-free and can be distributed to the water pipes and the boiler.

The need for a water softener mainly depends on the water hardness in your region. The water hardness will differ greatly per region. You can find the hardness of the water in your city or municipality on the site of your drinking water company.

Check the water hardness in your municipality here

Yes, a water softener requires annual maintenance. The operation of the device is checked and checked. If necessary, parts can then be replaced. In some cases it will be necessary to disinfect the water softener and to remove any salt residues that have baked on. You can immediately conclude a maintenance contract with most companies when installing a water softener. As a result, the price per maintenance will normally be lower than a one-off maintenance by another company.

Household appliances that use water increase the lifespan, such as washing machines, coffee makers, … If the water is too hard, limescale will build up. Lime ensures that the lifespan of these appliances is reduced. By softening the water with a water softener, there will be less or no lime in the water. This means that there will be less lime in your appliances.

When using soft water, you also use less detergent. Detergents work better in softened water. Your energy consumption will also be lower when using soft water. Hard water and limescale slow down the heating process in the boiler and other household appliances. Heating elements where limescale is present will use more energy. You can avoid this by using a water softener.

All the advantages of a water softener at a glance:

• Energy saving
• Devices last longer
• The taste of coffee, tea and lemonade comes out better
• Savings on detergents, cleaning products and soap
• Better for the skin, reduces your eczema complaints
• Longer life of taps and shower heads
• Your bathroom and kitchen will stay radiantly beautiful for longer
• No more expensive descaling products needed
• Convenience: time saving in all your cleaning work
• Comfort: soft water, a pleasure for your body
• Always cleaner and softer laundry
• And also good for the environment!

There are several factors that determine the price of a water softener. There are two types of softeners, namely: mechanical and electronic softeners. The price of a mechanical softener is cheaper than an electronic softener. In addition, the capacity of the device is also a determining factor. Your lifestyle also influences the choice of the type of device.

A water softener maintenance consists of several parts. Here are some things that need to be checked to ensure the proper functioning of the water softener.

1) Measuring the water hardness: to make sure that the water softener is still working properly, the hardness of the water is measured. If the water appears to be too hard, this indicates a malfunction of the water softener.

2) Checking and cleaning parts: it is of course very important that the parts of the appliance are still in good condition. The injectors, the valves, the filter… are therefore checked and cleaned. If a part appears to no longer work properly or is broken, it will be replaced.

3) Disinfecting the water softener: to prevent the formation of bacteria, the device is disinfected in most cases. The resins are also cleaned during this process. However, there are water softeners where this is not necessary.

4) Cleaning the salt container: the salt plays a very important role in the operation of the appliance. It ensures that the saturated resin spheres can regenerate. However, the salt can start to cake. That is why it is important to clean the salt reservoir regularly.

5) Proper adjustment of the water softener: to ensure proper operation of the device, everything must be properly adjusted. Salt consumption, for example, is an important point here.

You can do a few things to test the water hardness. A simple remedy to test yourself at home is to take a small jar and put some water in it. Afterwards you add a drop of detergent to that little water and then shake it! Do you notice that the water starts to foam quickly and well? Here you can assume that you have soft water. If the water foams to a limited extent, it is too hard. How hard is hard water now? The water hardness is expressed in French (°F) or German degrees (°D). According to the Flemish Drinking Water Legislation, the hardness of the water has a maximum of 67 °F.

You can request data about the hardness of the water in your municipality on the internet or at your municipality. Of course it is better to do the test yourself by briefly immersing a test strip in the water. Afterwards, the final result can be determined based on the discolorations. Finally, you can also call on Soft Water Solutions to analyze the hardness of the water at your home.

A water softener pays for itself. How long will that take then? That depends entirely on the number of people in your household and, of course, how much water you use. Several studies have been conducted into the cost savings of a water softener.

On average, you save on an annual basis per person: €125 euros.
Do you have a family of 4? Then you save about € 500 per year.

We calculated this amount as follows:

1. Loss of energy (€87.50 for 4 people)
By fully softening water, 7.1 M³ of gas can be saved per person per year. For a 4-person household this amounts to 20 euros per year.

Electricity costs for the same family can be reduced by 40 euros annually and the costs for maintaining the central heating fall by 27.50 euros.

2. Soap and (dish) detergents (€414 euros for 4 people)
When you use softened water, you can save up to 50% on soap, detergents and other cleaning products. On average, a 4-person household uses €828 per year in cleaning products. Softened water reduces this by half!

3. Clothing and household appliances last longer (other savings)
Descaled water ensures that clothing becomes thinner less quickly. In addition, household appliances break down less quickly because no limescale gets around the cooling element. Exactly what you save with this is difficult to say because it depends very much on what kind of clothing you wear and how expensive the household appliances are. We dare to say with certainty that you will save at least €125 per person on an annual basis.

Install your water softener yourself? That is very easy to do! Our installation kits contain all the materials needed to install the product. There is also a clear manual that explains the installation step by step. Do you still have questions about installing? Please contact our customer service via the contact page.

That is also possible. We have technicians all over Belgium. They know our systems, are happy to come and see you and install your softener with craftsmanship. The costs of this are not too bad. Would you like to use this installation service? Please contact us and we will arrange for an installer to visit you very quickly.

Yes. Limescale creates an extra unwanted layer of insulation around the heating element in your kettle, water heater and washing machine. The daily heating of water can therefore require up to an average of 30% more energy. So also a higher energy bill.

Not only lower energy costs, you also save on cleaning agents and soaps with a water descaler.

How about: with soft water no more expensive dishwasher tablets needed and no salt. With significantly less rinse aid, you still have shiny dishes. Easy, less harmful to the environment and also cheaper.

Also get rid of the expensive descaling agents.

Now you may be wondering: does a water softener make sense if I already have a lot of limescale in my existing pipes and equipment? Certainly, you will notice.

Any limescale that is already present dissolves really slowly and frees your heating elements from the energy-consuming limescale.

Sometimes we hear from a customer after the system has been in operation for a few days, “we still have limescale… how is that possible?”. After we have explained this, we call that customer back later and get a happy customer on the phone. Remove limescale. Less soap use.