About Physical Water Conditioners

A Physical Water Conditioner Will NOT Stop Limescale Coming Into Your Home

You may see advertised in the press, devices which claim to perform a similar function to water softeners. These devices come in a variety of guises and can be inserted into, clamped or wrapped around water pipes. The devices are normally magnetic or electronic and they do not change the composition of the water.

My research and experience tells me that whilst they may work for some people some of the time, they don’t work for anyone all of the time. I urge you to check independent reports before rushing into getting one of these. Some people find they don’t work for them at all. Above all, make sure you get a full money-back guarantee if you are tempted to go this way.

A physical water conditioner should really be called a scale reducer. They are supposed to stop scale sticking to water pipes. It is not scientificaly possible for these devices to perform as well as a water softener, as a water softener prevents the limescale coming into the house, whereas a physical water conditioner lets it in and then tries to prevent it sticking.

A physical water conditioner does not change the composition of the water. Hard water still comes into the house. There are many things people do not like about hard water, firstly scale which builds up in the pipes and can be seen on the shower screen, taps, kettle, showerhead and so on and the other main problem is scum. Scum forms as a result of the soap reaction with the calcuim carbonate in the water. With a water softener the calcuim carbonate is removed from the water so you will not get any scum or scale.

For the above reasons many people are unhappy about the performance of Physical Water Conditioners, as they still see scum around the house and some scale. Some conditioners are very unpredicable in the home. For this and many other reasons we will not recommend a physical water conditioner to anyone.

A physical water conditioner will not provide all the benefits of a water softener, a conditioner does not give the water a silky feel, make skin and hair feel softer, nor substantially reduce the consumption of soap, shampoo and other washing and cleaning materials, nor reduce bath, shower and sink cleaning times as a water softener does.