Ford is afforded hard water – here’s why

If you live in Ford, you’ll know all about hard water – unless you already have a water softener. The mains supply delivers exceptionally hard water, which is all down to the soil beneath our feet. Primarily of chalk, the soil contains an abundance of calcium and magnesium minerals. Whenever it rains, naturally soft rainwater is absorbed by these minerals, which turn the water hard. The Sussex coastal areas and inland are all liable to the same effect.

Hard water doesn’t do our skin and hair any favours. It’s bad for dry skin, or conditions like eczema and dermatitis, aggravating any underlying issues. Hair can go listless and laundry starchy and colourless when continually washed in hard water.

Just as bad is the horrid limescale build-up caused by hard water. It accumulates in kitchens, bathrooms and your household appliances – no matter how much you clean. Wherever there is hard water, limescale will follow.

It will also punish your central heating system. With hard water present, scale will stick to pipework and clog up the water tank, eroding the boiler’s energy efficiency and water storage capacity. This means higher than necessary fuel bills and a boiler that may be subject to repairs and premature replacement.

What’s the answer? Get a water softener fitted. It will provide an instant and economic long-term solution to the hassles associated with hard water. Softened water offers a multitude of lifestyle benefits. Not only is it superb for everyday washing, cleaning and cooking, your skin and hair will also be extremely grateful.

The water hardness level in Ford fluctuates between 240 and 280 parts per million (ppm). That’s at the top end of the scale, given any reading above 200ppm is considered hard. With a value-for-money Scott Jenkins water softener that reading will plummet to virtually zero.

Ford – an Overview

Annual rainfall: 27.96 or 710.18.

Ford is a low lying village close to the River Arun in West Sussex, situated two miles south of Arundel and west of Worthing. At the 2011 census, the population stood at 1690. Ford has its own railway station, which has a Grade II listed building and pub positioned alongside it.

The parish is perhaps best known for Ford Open Prison, centred on the site of two former government installations, the RAF Ford Battle of Britain airfield and the Royal Naval Air Station HMS Peregrine, which are recognised in a small commemorative garden, Rollaston Park.
In 2008, Ford was shortlisted on the government’s “Eco Town” plan, with its airfield site earmarked as the proposed core of a new settlement.