Hi everyone....need some advice please....

We have moved to a VERY hard water area and have been having problems with our washing machine.

Over the last few months I have noticed a `smell` coming from the machine and think it must be the fact that the hard water isn`t dissolving the washing liquid properly......the reason I say this is because it doesn`t happen to the dishwasher,(adding salt I guess softens the water?)and it didn`t happen in our old house either.
The bath and shower both need cleaning everyday, not just a usual wipe-over.....a proper Mr Muscle all over scrub down!!!

So we have come to the conclusion we are going to need a water softener.....

So, does anyone have any advice please.......or any other suggestions we might try, believe me I have tried a lot of things so anything would be considered..

Thanx in advance....
Joan.

here you go:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=domestic+mains+water+softener&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB

Hi Joan...

what sort of smell is it as it might not be not connected to the hard water....where does the flexible waste outlet from the w/machine go to???

Mog

We have very hard water as well - Berks. Loked into water softeners and the like. A proper water softener would be about £800+ for one under the sink. Do a search on the web for water softeners and 'health'. It pulls up lots of papers on the subject that could be interesting. And if you have a water meter it seems they use about 30% water for regenerating. So your bills would go up. And the water is meant to taste 'salty' - hardly surprising that... We use a water filter anyway.

I'm going to get one of those electronic ones that goes around the mains in. They keep the scale down which is the only reason to get one for me and they only cost about £70.

Dave

Dave, we did look into having a water filter but as far as I understand it, they only `filter` the water. This doesn`t take out the calcium that causes the limescale and the filters are not fine enough to take the calcium out.
We also looked at `scale inhibitors` but I think this does the same job basically as the filter.

To get round the problem I think it`s going to have to be a water softener.

Joan.

Mog, had this washing machine in our old house and is only about 18 months old.
Peter, my hubby, has checked the waste pipe and it goes straight to the waste thingy.
The washing machine that was here when we moved in (intergrated) also smelt but got much worse after a couple of weeks so I told hubby to put our one in, which he did, everything was fine until about 6 weeks ago when I started noticing this musty, old soapy smell. I have tried everything, I even washed the machine with a bottle of vinegar to descale it....and I have even put dishwasher salt in the washing to help..(don`t know what kind of damage I am doing though...but it does seem to help a bit)
Then in the bathroom I have noticed that the plug holes get clogged up with soap scum and it is really gooey. I have to use Mr Muscle on the shower cubicle everyday, also the bath, as the soap scum just stays.
When we have showers or baths all our skin itches afterwards and we have to use moisturising lotion all over our bodies to stop the dryness and itches.
Today I have been to the dentist and he commented on some stains on my teeth, I have `NEVER` had stained teeth and I am putting this down the water too, as my teeth don`t feel properly clean after I have brushed them.......(sorry, about the gory bit!)

So we think this all boils down the water and calcium levels in it....

The only appliance that is scale free in this house is the dishwasher....adding dishwasher salt I suppose helps.

Joan.

[Edited by JoanUK300 - 11/12/2003 11:45:21 AM]