With rocketing energy bills and fuel prices, along with the weekly food shop burning a hole in the credit card, it’s more important than ever to take stock of the cost of living.
What exactly are we spending and where does the money go each month? What represents good value? Indeed, what do we consider to be essential expenditure, as opposed to affordable luxuries?
As examples, those “can’t do without” items probably include the cost of a new smartphone (eyewatering), the monthly mobile subscriptions and the direct debits that roll on and on for services such as Sky Sports or Netflix.
Oh, and don’t forget the water softener! Because soft water systems also incur monthly outgoings, albeit not huge ones. Indeed, the money spent on running your water softener will be considerably less than continually forking out for the latest blockbuster on the telly.
And that’s not all. For, as we shall demonstrate, compared to the financial commitment of living with hard water all the time, the associated costs with maintaining a water softener will actually SAVE you money.
How can I pay for my water softener?
There are three options – outright purchase, paying with finance or renting the unit.
Whichever route you choose, there will always be additional monthly running costs, to ensure your water softener works efficiently and stays in optimal condition. Why is this?
Ion exchange salt-reliant water softeners, which dominate the market, can vary in design, but typically they each have a resin tank which disposes of the hard minerals contained in water, such as calcium and magnesium. With these minerals out the way, you get to experience lovely soft water. The resin tank, however, requires recharging, which is known as regeneration. This process uses salt to refresh the resin beads, making sure that the water remains consistently soft at all times.
The salt and the additional water required to complete the regeneration process do have a cost attached. It isn’t enormous, but it needs to be factored into your monthly expenses.
A Guide to Water Softener Running Costs
Firstly, the cost of buying a water softener can start from around £500 for a budget DIY softener form somewhere like SrewFix or B&Q rising to about £1700 for a premium range unit which is usually with a larger capacity, longer warranty and great aftercare if installed by a professional. You should also allow £350 for installation or more for larger pipework properties (28mm plus).
After that, all that is required from you (you can leave the servicing and hard work up to us) is to top your water softener up with salt when needed – This will be with either tablet or block salt – depending on what type of softener you have. Generally, salt will be about £12 for a 10kg/£20 for 25kg bag or £8.50 per pack of block salt. As a rule of thumb, allow £4.25 per person per month for block salt or £3.33 for tablet salt.
In addition, if you take out an annual water softener service subscription (highly recommended), this will be £95 per year. Meanwhile, one off servicing costs £120. Alternatively if you have one of our ever popular MolliVita range you can extend your warranty and never have to worry about the cost of a replacement should anything ever go wrong for as long as you wish with our Repair or Replace option which is less than a Netflix Subscription. Also, if you have a drinking water system, you should factor in charges for replacement water filters. These should be changed once a year and start from around £45 depending on which system you have.
If you have metered water, because water softeners use more water during regeneration, this will result in a minimal increase in your annual water bill – about £10, including VAT.
So, per month, if you allow £8.50 for water softener salt, £8 for servicing and £4 for filters with about 50p extra for water, the cost of running your water softener should be no more than £20 for a family of 2.
A £20 pcm outlay will SAVE you money in the long-term
A general rule of thumb for salt:
Block Salt – 6 packs of block salt per person per year £51
Tablet Salt – 2 X 25KG per person per year £40 – We also smaller 10kg bags which are £12 each.
*Please note salt consumption will vary from household to household and is dependent on the quality of water coming in, water hardness levels at the property, age of the softener and whether there are underlying issues in the property such as slow leaks.
During these inflationary times, we are told that the cost of generating hot water and keeping an average family home properly heated is now hitting £2000 a year. That’s nearly £200 a month!
Scott Jenkins Water Softeners are one of the leading suppliers in the south-east of England of water softeners, water filters and accessories associated with soft water systems. We cover West and East Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Kent and London. For all enquiries, call Scott Jenkins Water Softeners on 01243 607494 or email: scott@sjbs.info For an instant water softener quote click here.