On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 12:45:11 +0100, Sue Mortimore
wrote:

We have just built a shower room on the third floor of a building we
own. The hot water is heated by a tank which does the entire building
and the cold water is direct mains.

We are using a monsoon 4bar pressure pump to increase the hot water
flow, which has its own supply from the tank on the ground floor.the
cold is mains fed

The shower works a treat but as we are in a hard water area the
build up of scale on the shower doors and wall is quite noticeable.

can some recommend a way of softening the water for the shower only,
the pipe work is plastic by the way

The pipework doesn't really influence this.

The only completely effective solution to this is to install an ion
exchange water softener. That will provide softened water for as
many outlets as you like. You then normally leave one cold outlet
(kitchen tap typically) as a direct supply from the mains.

You could arrange for the plumbing just to feed the shower with
softened water, but it seems a bit pointless when you could cover the
entire house.

Other side benefits are that detergent and shampoo consumption are
reduced by a third to a half and hair etc. washing is much easier and
better.

Another option that may just about work, at least in reducing the
scale deposits is a phosphate dosing device such as a Combimate.
This would have a positive effect on the shower head not becoming
bunged up, but probably won't leave the shower as deposit free as
softened water.

The so called electronic or magnetic water conditioners are a complete
chocolate teapot for this application and probably most others.

further question?

does the scale come from both the cold and hot water or is one worse
than the other for scale.

There are two forms of hardness in water, temporary and permanent.

Salts related to temporary hardness are deposited out of the water
during heating whiuch is why hot water cylinders become caked with
scale. Permanent hardness is always there.





TIA

..andy

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