What kind of water area do you live in? I learnt recently (it has only taken me 6 years to take notice of this) that I live in a hard water area, great for drinking, but not for washing. So today’s guest post in association with Hanson Salt could save me lots of money.
At a time when consumers do not want to spend money that they do not have to, it may becoming a trend for households to adopt a more practical approach towards maintaining their white goods. Washing machines, dishwashers and other essential equipment is an expensive layout, but with the right treatment it can last for much longer than the warranty.
The most common ways to prolong the life of electrical equipment that uses water, like
dishwashers and washing machines, is to ensure the right kind of water is being supplied.
Around 60% of water supplies in the UK, for example, are hard or medium, both types which can reduce the working life of white goods and cost more to maintain and in consumables.
However, it is also worth noting that soft water can also have a long-term detrimental
effect upon washing machines and dishwashers (and also even central heating systems and boilers). The culprit is scale that builds up inside the equipment, comprising calcium and magnesium deposits, which also cause problems with the performance of detergents.
Put simply, the natural composition of water in the UK ensures expensive household
equipment has a shorter life than it is capable of. The simple solution is water softening salt.
Water softeners are an investment. They cost money to install and then of course there
is the cost of consumables – salt blocks or tablets – over time. However, this needs to be
weighed against the costs of replacing equipment.
Someone utilising water softening salt will notice an improvement in the performance of
their equipment and detergents: hard water minerals prevent soap from making the suds
essential to cleaning and when the water softener unit filters out these substances the
results can be impressive – smaller quantities of soap will lather better in softened water.
A water softener unit can be fitted to mains water or to a separate supply that feeds the
washing machine and dishwasher – some people prefer the taste of hard water for drinking. The unit cleans the mineral deposits and this is cleaned periodically using salt tablets or blocks, which produce a saline solution to flush residues.
For more information see Hanson Salt’s website, and publications such as British Water’s consumer guide to water quality, which suggests that a four person household can save an average of £200 per year by using water softening salt.
