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Ashwell Water Softeners |
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Intelligent Answers to Hard Water problems - 0800 634 34 70 |
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Health Questions & Answers |
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Should a water softener be installed to leave a drinking tap which supplies unsoftened water? |
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It is particularly important that all water mixed with powdered milk for babies' feed is drawn from an unsoftened mains tap (AWS comment - or from a correctly installed Reverse Osmosis System). This is because powdered milk already contains the right amount of sodium, and very young babies have a limited tolerance for sodium. Anyone on a sodium restricted diet should follow their doctor's instructions. The British Water Code of Practice, which covers all new water softener installations, requires that, where reasonably practicable, a pipe leading to the mains water tap for unsoftened or mains drinking water should be connected directly to the water supply pipe prior to the water softener inlet. (AWS comment - NEW UK Bylaw passed in 2008 stipulates that if the water hardness does NOT exceed 400PPM or Mg/l then it is NOT mandatory to install a separate hard water supply). Will those who prefer to drink softened water be deprived of minerals necessary for good health? The beneficial minerals necessary for good health come mostly from food in a balanced diet. Neither hard drinking water nor softened water can provide a significant proportion of the daily needs for minerals - for example, a glass of hard water contains only about one tenth of the calcium that is in an equal volume of milk. How much sodium is there in softened water? The average daily intake of sodium form all sources for an adult is 3500mg (9g of salt), but experts advising the Department of Health recommend a reduction to about 2300mg (6g of salt). Many natural and manufactured foods and drinks contain sodium and contribute to this total intake. Typical examples are: two glasses of milk contain 325mg of sodium, and two slices of bread contain 375mg. For comparison and dependant on the water hardness , an adult in a hard water area drinking 4 pints (2 litres) of artificially softened water per day would add only approx. 310mg of sodium (or less than 9%) to their average daily intake (AWS comment - Will Vary dependent on your Water Softener type, your Water softeners age and its condition / state of repair). Will softened water help dry skin conditions, such as eczema? Many eczema sufferers notice benefits from the use of softened water. Due to the complexity of eczema it is impossible to quantify why softened water helps. Successful reports suggest the following: · Water softeners eliminate scummy soap curd and result in a clean lather which is kind to skin, reducing dryness and itching. · With softened water, the amount of soap used when washing clothes can be greatly reduced. Also pure soap products can be used with softened water in preference to detergents.
Content supplied by kind permission of the British Water - Quality Water Group, "A consumer guide to water softeners". |
