Plumber for water softeners

Plumbers are generally good at plumbing. When it comes to installing a water softener, or other form of water treatment system, most of them have very little knowledge. It is not to say that they cannot connect a pipe, repair a leak, connect a radiator, etc. But ask a plumber which legislation covers the installation of a water softener and he most likely will not know.

Water softener installations even when carried out by a respected plumber often fall short of what is required. Plumbers give incomplete and often out of date advice.

For example, frequently plumbers miss-inform their customers about drinking soft water. True facts.

Prior to June 2007 it was common practice to leave one tap in the kitchen connected to none softened water. The historic water industry byelaws were revoked by The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. This set of water regulations set out to harmonize and modernize water byelaws which to that date were different between the various local water suppliers. Since The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 many clarifications have been made. Specifically, in 2007 WRAS (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) published a document called Information for Installation of Ion Exchange Water Softeners for Systems Supplying Water for Domestic Purposes.

To the point, this document outlines the correct advice with respect to drinking ion exchange softened water. If your water hardness is above 425 mg/l as CaCO3 and there is no sodium present in the water supply before softening, you should have a hard water tap. Below this level it is not actually required, although advised.

So for the most part plumbers are good pipe mechanics, but seldom have a full working knowledge of the regulations they should be using.

Water softener installations are a specialised area of plumbing. General plumbers and heating engineers know what a water softener is and what it will do. They frequently fail to install them correctly.

Pure Choice have specialised in water softeners and water treatment systems since 1990. Professional water softener specification and installation is essential. Call us on 0800 068 1857.