If you suffer from a continuously blocked showerhead, dry skin and watermarks on your chrome kitchenware, the chances are you are among the 60% of households in England and Wales who live in a hard water area.

The effects of hard water can be seen in the scaling of water-using appliances from irons, kettles and washing machines to hot water tanks, pipes and boilers. Scale not only reduces their efficiency and lifespan, but also causes homeowners to spend hundreds of pounds more than necessary on cleaning products - a total of £920 million in the UK each year, according to latest industry estimates.

Hard water has been linked to health problems too. A recent study carried out by the University of Nottingham involving more than 7,500 schoolchildren, found that there was an association between hard water and eczema. Primary school children living in hard water areas were twice as likely to suffer from this distressing skin complaint. With around one in five school children and one in twelve adults now suffering from eczema, clinical trials are planned to investigate the link further.

Eastern and Southern England are identified as particular hotspots for hard to very hard water, closely followed by Central England. Towns known to be particularly badly affected include Bristol, Southampton, Brighton, London, Norwich and Lincoln, whereas Carnwall, West Wales and North Lancashire are soft water areas.

As consumer awareness of the perils of hard water grows, an increasing number of households are exploring the benefits of installing a water softening system. In addition to scale-free appliances, softer skin and laundry and possible improvements in skin conditions such as eczema, the average household can expect to save up to £200 per year in cleaning products.

Homeowners can find out whether they live in a hard or soft water area by requesting a free water hardness test kit from leading water softener manufacturer Kinetico by calling 0800 0151380

If you laugh in the face of eight glasses of water a day, you are forming part of a rapidly growing tribe of water addicts now sweeping the country! As we are warned against the perils of supping excess caffeine-loaded drinks and alcohol, we are filling our bodies with refreshing water. However, the habit is still costing us 'an arm and a leg' in bottled water!

While most of us are aware of the health benefits of drinking plenty of water each day, we have also become more discerning and are less willing to accept the taste of chlorine in our drinking water. Many have turned to bottled mineral water as an alternative (we drank 1.4 billion litres of bottled water last year) but, apart from the inconvenience factor of lugging it home from the supermarket, with mineral water costing around 60p per litre (compared to just 0.06p for a litre of tap water), many feel we have little choice but to put up with tap water.

Others try pitcher filter jugs as a quick-fix but this too is far from an ideal solution. Not only can bacteria develop if water is allowed to stand for too long, but filter jugs should also be cleaned regularly. In addition, changing filters every month is a costly exercise.

So waht is the solution? Hundreds of thousands of people in nearly 100 countries worldwide believe they have found the answer by suing a drinking water system to dramatically improve the taste and quality of their tap water as well as eliminating odours.

In addition to removing the traces of chlorine from the incoming water supply, drinking water systems can eliminate the most common contaminants including lead, cysts (such as cryptosporidium and toxoplasma) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Reverse Osmosis (RO) drinking water systems go even further by removing up to 98% of unwanted contaminants.

WATER SOFTENERS

Wave goodbye to watermarks and limescale in the bathroom!

Are your once gleaming taps dull and lifeless? Is your prized power shower clogged with scale and covered in unsightly watermarks? No matter how hard you clean or which new fangled cleaner you try it makes no difference? Then its time to confront the reason why your bathroom accessories are more monochrome than chrome and check out the quality of your water. Nearly 60% of us suffer the effects of hard water where we live in the UK. Hard water is a pain. Not only does it stain your chrome accessories, glasses and work surfaces, it creates scale and scum build-up around your home, clogs taps, shower-heads and even irons and ultimately blocks pipes. It also affects the condition of your hair and dries out your skin. And it's hard on your wallet too, as you have to form out for more detergents, cleaning products, shampoos and conditioners and, on top of that, your heating costs accelerate.

Hard water contains a multitude of minerals as well as dissolved chalk and lime, which can ruin toasts, kettles, taps, glasses and silverware. But there is an easier way to rid yourself of hard water problems than moving abroads. By investing in a water softener, scale will be banished forever! Not only that but you will save money, your laundry will be softer, whiter and brighter and your washing machine, dishwasher and boiler will run more efficiently.

A softener is easy to install, is small enough to fit under a sink and will keep your home, hair and skin scum-free for years to come, and you will save as much as £200 per year in bills and household costs.

Albatross Publications
PO Box 523
Horsham
West Sussex
RH12 4WL

Telephone:
01293 871201
Fax:
01293 871301