Myth: Water softeners that don’t use electricity are better

Manufacturers of electricity-free water softeners make all sorts of claims to give you the impression that electricity-free water softeners are better than other types of water softener. As our Duplex range also includes an electricity-free water softener, we can provide you with objective information.

We’d love to show you how it really works. Do have a look at the video in which we explain the differences between electricity-free water softeners and those that use electricity (or, rather, smart technology).

11 Myths about electricity-free water softeners

• Myth 1: Electricity-free water softeners are more efficient and therefore use less salt:
  Salt consumption depends on the method and timing of the rinse cycle. Only flow-free (our Duplex) and time/volume-proportional water softeners (our Excellent and Comfort ranges) can operate with 100% efficiency. Other types of water softeners are never as efficient as the 100%. If other suppliers claim that their salt consumption is lower than that of our water softeners, this is nonsense. We explain exactly how the different types of water softeners work here out.

• Myth 2: Salt blocks are better than salt tablets.
  Both salt blocks and salt tablets are of a very high quality. The salt must be as pure as possible and contain as few impurities as possible. As we offer a guarantee of up to 20 years, this is extremely important; lower-quality salt will lead to problems in the long run. So our salt tablets have the same composition as the salt blocks but are simply pressed into a different shape and are considerably more affordable than salt blocks. Why? You’d be better off asking the suppliers of salt blocks rather than us. We’ve no idea – in any case, it’s certainly not down to the quality.

• Myth 3. Water softeners that do not require electricity are cheaper in the long run.
  Certainly not! The costs of a water softener mainly consist of the purchase price, the cost of salt and maintenance costs. In addition, there are the (potential) costs of electricity and the water used for flushing. These last two are negligible (less than €10 per year) and therefore not relevant for a price comparison. The other three factors, however, are. Our Comfort Compact (€1,245) and Excellent Compact (€1,445) can be compared on a like-for-like basis in terms of capacity with our Medium Duplex (€1,890) Furthermore, salt consumption in kilograms is the same for both systems – the 100% and the non-electric models (both of which are efficient) – but the salt blocks are considerably more expensive per kilogram. Finally, there’s maintenance. With us, this costs €48 per year for all types, which is roughly on a par with or slightly lower than the competition. In short, non-power-free water softeners are much cheaper to buy and the cost of salt is considerably lower. The choice is yours.

• Myth 4. Water softeners that do not require electricity are less prone to faults.
  We stock both types and, in our experience, both work smoothly and without any faults. We cannot detect any difference between the non-powered and the non-current-free. It’s quite something that suppliers who only stock non-battery-powered models in their range know so well just how prone to faults the products they don’t supply themselves are! And should the power go out, the included backup battery will come to the rescue.  Yet another claim that’s easy to make but has no basis in fact. What’s more, we offer a 20-year warranty, so whilst faults may be a nuisance for you, ultimately they’re our problem (fortunately, faults hardly ever occur).

• Myth 5. Non-electric water softeners operate 24/7, whereas electric water softeners do not.
  This is the first time something is actually correct, but only in the case of power-free water softeners with a double resin cylinder; power-free water softeners with a single resin cylinder very often do not produce softened water at all! But to put it diplomatically, it’s actually a non-issue. When the resin is being flushed, a water softener from the Comfort or Excellent series does indeed temporarily stop supplying softened water. Fortunately, this lasts less than half an hour and only happens once every few weeks. This usually happens at 3 o’clock in the morning (to be agreed with you), when there is virtually no water consumption. And if, by chance, water is used at that time, it is indeed the normal water supplied by your water company, which you have usually been using for years without any problems. Our Duplex system with two resin cylinders does not suffer from this issue and always supplies softened water. However, this does come at the cost of the two resin cylinders. After all, one cylinder simply costs less than two. Furthermore, whilst one resin cylinder is being flushed, the limescale-free water can only be supplied by the remaining cylinder, which reduces the water pressure during flushing and lowers the system’s capacity. And this happens not only at night but also during the day, for example, whilst you are having a shower.

• Myth 6. Water softeners that do not require electricity have no maintenance costs.
  If you do not take out a maintenance contract, you will not incur any subscription fees, either with us or with other providers. However, if something breaks or there is a fault, you will have to pay the costs yourself. We offer a 5-year warranty, which you can extend to 20 years for a modest fee. There isn’t a single provider that offers a free warranty for up to 20, and sometimes even 30, years. Sometimes the impression is given that this is the case, so please be particularly careful about this.

• Myth 7. A water softener with two cylinders has a greater capacity than one with a single cylinder.
  Of course not. The capacity of a water softener is determined by the amount of resin it uses. Two cylinders, each holding 4.5 litres, contain a total of 9 litres of resin – the same as our smaller softeners. This has absolutely nothing to do with the number of cylinders. The more resin there is, the greater the capacity and the less frequently it needs to be rinsed. That’s why we offer several models, both smaller and larger. This allows you to choose a water softener that’s perfectly suited to your home. Two mini-cylinders, as found in most non-electric water softeners, work well with low water consumption, but with higher consumption they result in very frequent rinsing and regular salt refilling; you have no choice based on your consumption. That is why we offer several models, for both low and high water consumption.

• Myth 8. A current-free water softener softens water completely to a hardness of 0; other water softeners cannot do this because they use a different type of resin and do not soften the water completely.
  This is utter nonsense. Every water softener softens water to a hardness of 0 as standard. The resin in the softener cannot be “programmed” to leave a small amount of limescale behind and therefore, by definition, removes all limescale from the water, regardless of the type of resin used. The only way to retain a so-called residual hardness (if desired) of, for example, 2 dH, is by mixing in hard water. This is done using a mixing valve, which is fitted as standard on all our models.

• Myth 9. Electricity and water do not mix and are dangerous.
  Many appliances in your home use both water and electricity – think of your dishwasher or your coffee machine. Your water meter and your main tap are probably even housed together in your meter cupboard! This claim is just meant to scare you and is therefore a bit childish.

• Myth 10. Water softeners that do not require electricity use better-quality resin.
  The resins used in the various systems all operate on the same principle (ion exchange) and differ very little from one another. The resin we use in all our systems is of the highest quality. It is true, to a certain extent, that the smaller the resin beads, the greater the water-softening capacity per litre of resin. The downside, however, is that smaller resin beads create greater resistance and therefore lead to greater pressure loss. It simply comes down to personal preference. We have opted for a balance between water-softening capacity and pressure loss.

• Myth 11. Non-electric water softeners are better suited to fluctuations in water consumption.
  If the supplier only offers one type of water softener, the capacity is fixed. Water consumption is not taken into account in any way. If you go to beautiful water When choosing a water softener, you do need to take water consumption into account. If, due to circumstances, you end up using more or less water, fortunately it’s no big deal. If consumption increases, the system will need to rinse more frequently and you’ll have to top up the salt more often, and vice versa. But with us, you can at least choose the optimal system that best suits your needs. If a supplier only offers one type, water consumption isn’t taken into account from the outset. The strange thing is that it’s sometimes claimed that electricity-free water softeners are actually better at handling this – strange but true… See also: Advantages of electric water softeners
• Fact: With a salt-free water softener, you’ll need to top up the salt more often
  That’s correct. The electricity-free water softeners use 4 kg salt blocks. A maximum of two can be fitted, so the total capacity is 8 kg. Even our smallest water softeners have a larger capacity (12.5 kg).