Around 60% of UK homes are located in hard water areas, including many of our major cities – London, Brighton and Southampton. Bristol and Birmingham have such supplies too, so there’s a good chance that if you’re working on a new build or refurbishment project any new shower installation will warrant careful consideration. Here, Steve Saunders, Senior Technical Manager at Triton Showers, offers advice.
If left unchecked, limescale can quickly build up inside even the newest of mixer valves and electric units, having a detrimental effect on performance over time. Such issues can be avoided though if addressed in the early stages of specification. Thankfully, not all showers are as susceptible to hard water as others and selecting the best product for site requirements at the start of the process can reduce call backs, costly maintenance work and down time.
For starters, arranging to have the quality of water supply professionally checked is a sensible start to any plan, especially when dealing with multiple properties. If lime content is particularly high, there are several options to help reduce the inconvenience of chalky deposits that are well worth knowing about.
When researching, look out for showers that have been specifically designed to cope. Some of the latest electric models have heating elements that are less susceptible than others. Triton’s T80 Pro-Fit for example, include Dura-Flow™ technology that prevents hot spots forming on the inner coil. This clever innovation helps reduce scale by up to 80% and extends lifespan as a result.
Selecting a shower with a phased shut down facility is another smart move. Units with this function flush out any remaining water in the head set when turned off to reduce clogging. It pays not to overlook accessories too – shower heads with rub clean nozzles and removable spray plates are much easier for end-users to clean.
As an extra measure, specifying and fitting a filter to the incoming mains water supply could be a budget well spent too. There are plenty to choose from and an array of electric water conditioners which can ultimately help extend the life of household appliance. By tackling the problem at its very source as well as specifying the most appropriate showering solution, costly call outs are more easily avoided.
To find out more, visit tritonshowers.co.uk or follow ‘TritonShowers’ on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
