Cheap Water Softener Advice

[meglet]

My baby daughter has eczema and we think that the hard water in my area may be partly to blame. I only need a water softener unit of some description on the bath tap so I don't really want to spend hundreds of £s. Can anyone recommend anything? My husband hunks there is a magnet system we could try. Thanks

[woofgang]

the magnet system doesn't soften the water as such, nether do the electric coil versions They work (if they work at all) by stopping the minerals from sticking to each other and to the inside of the pipes. The minerals stay in the water and will still affect your daughter's skin, if indeed it is affecting her skin. How much water do you use in her a day? If you wanted to try and see if it makes a difference then you might try getting Brita jugs to filter the water and then heat it in saucepans or kettles. The Brita filters don't work in the same way as a whole house filter would, but they do remove most of the mineral from the water.
If you could afford it, I would go for a water softener though. The water is much nicer and it stops things like washing machines getting furred up.

[gingejbee]

woof has said it all really..."softening" water involves removing the ions that cause hardness (calcium and magnesium) and replacing them (chemically) with sodium. That's what an ion-exchange water softener does. The electrical/magnetic gadgets don't alter the chemical analysis of the water...it remains just as hard as it was before.

[slaney]

There has been some research done on this but disappointing so far...
http://www.swet-trial.co.uk/

[meglet]

Thanks all. Turns out my sister has one she can give us do I just need to get an installation quote now.

[soapnumpty]

My daughter has eczema and we were told by the doctor to use Doublebase cream and prescribed a short course of steroid cream. The steroid cleared it up and using the Doublebase cream twice a day seems to be keeping it at bay. We're getting a water softener fitted soon. Its costing £700. Not cheap