Wickes Water Softener

[liberatordeluxe]

Sadly my water softener of 10 years has decided to die on me so am back to hard water as i can not afford to buy another one.

My question is will own brand detergents have limescale protection in them to protect my automatic washer?

Thanks Ben

 

[superelectronic]

Look at the ingredients...

Powders will probably contain zeolites which have been the standard water softening agents for many years now. You should be quite safe as long as you don't skimp on quantity.

 

Liquids are a different kettle of fish. It's been mentioned somewhere here before they have been formulated to work these days without the need for an agent to soften the water, especially the gels (but perhaps don't take that as gospel). Realistically, though, you can probably keep limescale buildup at bay with an application of descaler from time to time, which is certainly the cheaper option in the short-to-medium term than a whole-house water softener and no doubt cheaper than using limescale prevention tablets in every wash. Incidentally, I'd say to stay away from the cheaper forms of limscale prevention agents unless you like odd white marks on your dark laundry.

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Thanks SE. Ill check the ingredients next time i go to Savers. I don't think a softener is worth worrying about really. Can think of better things to spend money on like a well earned holiday

 

[liberatordeluxe]

My deceased Gran used to have the Bendix washer with the square door too! Bloody good machine too.

 

[washer111]

Water Softener?

Do you mind posting a picture of it here for us? I might be able to help

 

We were told by our plumber our softener of 28 years "couldn't be fixed" because it was "too old." Well, one rebuild kit later (AU$84), we had that old baby chugging away. We also needed new resins, which was very expensive ($300), but that was for a .75 cu. ft. system, and in the UK, I hear that you have smaller systems. 

Eventually, the rebuilt one started leaking lots (Not even 7 months later) (my bad luck, apparently not common), and I tried using parts from "the scrapper" and everything, to no avail. So we bit the bullet, and purchased a new "head" for it ($300), and its been over a year since we've had trouble, though I'm still trying to fix the air in the water lines after regeneration.

 

What I'm trying to say is, fixing your softener might be fun! Its DIY, and fairly cheap. Take a peep at the website below, and they might be able to help you. Why deal with the possibility of your appliances scaling up, wasting you money and time, when you could fix this quickly and easily?<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>

Softenerparts.com - Repair Parts and How To Guides

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Ill take a photo when i have time. But to be honest there is no need for a softener for the washer or dishwasher as they already contain chemicals to prevent limescale anyway. I am not technical minded and rather spend the money on things that are urgent. Thanks anyway.

 

[washer111]

You're Welcome!

If you ever become interested in repairing, then I am more than happy to give you some pointers

 

It isn't really difficult; I didn't know what a water softener even WAS before we repaired ours. Now, I'm like an expert.