The water in Steyning is far from soft.

Like the majority of West Sussex, the mains water supply in Steyning is on the hard side. It’s nothing to do with rainwater, which is naturally soft. The reason you get hard water is the soil type.

Steyning sits on soil predominantly composed of chalk and limestone, abundant with hard water-causing magnesium and calcium minerals. It’s inevitable, therefore, that rainwater becomes hard when it reaches the underlay.

If you are a Steyning homeowner and rail against consistently hard water in the mains supply, the best option is to have a water softener fitted. The benefits will be instant and plentiful. Skin and hair love soft water; it prevents dryness and can really help skin conditions like dermatitis and eczema. When your clothes, towels and linen are washed in softened water, they won’t feel starchy and drained of colour, which tend to happen with hard water.

Just as bad is that hard water is the chief cause of limescale build-up. Water softeners are brilliant at getting rid of scale, stopping it from accumulating in pipework, household appliances like washing machines and dishwashers, as well as on wet kitchen and bathroom surfaces. You’ll find that cleaning kitchens and bathrooms – and keeping them clean – is much easier with soft water around. You’ll also save a packet on heating costs. A central heating system, free of scale, will use far less energy generating the right amount of heat and hot water. Enjoy reduced fuel bills with soft water, plus the boiler will last a lot longer and be less prone to breakdowns. These are expensive pieces of kit to replace.

Steyning’s water hardness reading is around 220 parts per million (ppm), which is considered moderate to very hard.

Steyning – an Overview

Annual rainfall: 29.2inch or 742mm.

Steyning is an historic town in the Horsham district of West Sussex, located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles north of the coastal town of Shoreham-by-Sea.
Along with Steyning itself, the smaller villages of Bramber and Upper Beeding are all part of the built-up area at this crossing-point of the Adur. In the 2001 census, Steyning’s population was 5,812.

Steyning has existed since Anglo-Saxon times. King Alfred the Great’s father was buried at St Andrew and St Cuthman Church in the town.

The biennial Steyning Festival was founded in 2006, running for two weeks at the end of May/start of June and featuring theatre, music, literature, talks, walks and community events.
Sally Gunnell, former British athlete and gold-medal winner in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games lives in Steyning.