PHYSICAL WATER CONDITIONERS
A summary of their effectiveness in the home

These devices can reduce scale formation in some applications but when and by how much in domestic situations is uncertain.

What are they?
There are a variety of products currently on the market for inserting into, or clamping and wrapping around water pipes which claim to reduce the deposition of hardness scale. These units take the form of magnetic, electrolytic, electronic etc. devices and do not change the composition of water.

Their effectiveness?
There is no clear-cut answer on their effectiveness on physical conditioners in reducing scale. Their effectiveness in industrial applications can be fairly consistent but it is the unpredictability of their performance in the domestic situation that particularly concerns QWG. All we can DEFINITELY say is that in our view, and that of many eminent scientists across the world studying the subject, some devices can have some effect in reducing scale in pipework in some conditions, but there is certainly no widespread agreement, even among those manufacturing the devices, on how and when they work. It is generally accepted though, that, even when a conditioner works very well in one particular home, under one particular set of conditions, it may fail to work in a different home with a slightly different set of conditions.

The Quality Water Group’s recommendations
Due to lack of clear documentary evidence that such devices perform reliably under a set of clearly defined conditions, QWG will currently not allow membership to any company involved solely with physical water conditioner products. Physical devices are available, though, from several QWG Members, who also sell water softeners or water filtration equipment and we insist that any member selling physical water conditioners offers an extended time, money-back guarantee to protect the customers if the device does not work under the conditions in their home. Ideally, in our view, this type of device should be offered for sale alongside a traditional softener, with expert guidance available, to allow the customer to make a clear comparison, because the capability of softeners and physical water conditioners are different.

There are undoubtedly reputable companies selling physical conditioners but there are also others whose advertising suggests that a water conditioner performs the same ’water softening’ function as a water softener at a fraction of the price. This is simply not true.

The current situation A water conditioner is only a scale reducer and will not provide all the benefits of a water softener. A conditioner does not give water a silky feel, make skin and hair feel softer, nor substantially reduce the consumption of soap, shampoo and other washing a cleaning materials, nor reduce bath, shower or sink cleaning times, as a water softener does. This statement represents the expert opinion of the Quality Water Group of British Water whose members abide by strict codes of practice. British water has published test methods and installation codes of practice for domestic water treatment equipment. No UK or European mandatory performance standards exist with which domestic water treatment equipment must comply. However, the writing of European performance standards has been started and Members of British Water are leading the UK input via the British Standards Institution.