Water health
Guides, minus the sales pitch
Plain-English explainers on hardness, limescale, filters and what UK tap water actually contains, written by our editors, kept free of the sales pitch.
Hard vs soft water
What “hard” and “soft” water actually mean, how to tell which you have, and why it matters for your home.
Limescale guide
Why limescale forms, where it does the most damage, and the realistic options for dealing with it.
Filter types explained
Carbon, reverse osmosis, mechanical, UV: what each filter type actually removes, and which one matches your problem.
Is my water safe?
How UK tap water is regulated, what your supplier is required to tell you, and when it's worth testing further.
Why does your area have hard water (and someone else's doesn't)?
Rain starts out the same everywhere. What it flows through on the way to your tap is what makes the difference.
Does a water softener actually help your skin?
Softer water definitely changes how soap behaves on your skin. Whether it actually treats a skin condition is a different question, and the evidence is more mixed than the marketing suggests.
Is softened water safe (and better) to drink?
Hard water isn't a health risk, but softened water isn't automatically the better choice for every glass in the house, either.
How hard water quietly wrecks your washing machine, kettle and boiler
Limescale doesn't just look unsightly. It's quietly costing hard-water households money on every heated appliance in the house.
How do water softeners actually work?
Most home water softeners work on the same basic principle: swapping the minerals that cause hardness for ones that don't.