Hiro wrote:

Am in a hard water area and my bathroom bath tub hot water faucet,
which is fed by a combination boiler, has got essentially gone bust
after 1 year. Plumber said the quality of the tap wasn't that great to
start with. However, it could be simply coz of the hard water.

Anyway, in my research for a water softener I have come across this
item

http://www.eastmidlandswater.com/Det...p?ProductID=86

Anyone aware of this sort of device. Looks fairly easy to install but
the question is "Is it effective?".

No. These aren't effective. They've been on the market for years and
testing has found they don't work. Take a look at this article -
you'll see the same claims have been made before, and under testing
have been found to be groundless:
http://www.csicop.org/si/9801/powell.html

Your best bet is to stick with a conventional water softener.

HellT