canalsiderenovation

Thanks Should I have a permable or non permable grout? I am presuming the brush in grout was permable? The slabs were laid on compacted MOT topped with a mortar bed of sand and cement. There is a fall on them and no drainage issues I have found the stuff we originally used it was https://www.tilingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/product/ultratile-propave-external-tile-grout?srsltid=AfmBOoqqWIztTfMWVL_E19WjgWZK8c2mKeKDwOqF5pSjqX0xMuMbyOvq

Thanks Should I have a permable or non permable grout? I am presuming the brush in grout was permable? The slabs were laid on compacted MOT topped with a mortar bed of sand and cement. There is a fall on them and no drainage issues

Mix it with water to store it? I am still unsure which is the best stuff to buy.

Should I get something like this https://amzn.eu/d/cNvWTLc or https://shorturl.at/zeAQW or something else?

We got the Sentry for £20 new off Ebay which is now fitted. We are going to see how we get on with this and if we notice any limescale difference.... if not we will then look into Combimate but I still have reservations about adding anything to the water that could impact on health like salt or phosphate.

Some of the grout is coming out of our porcelain outside (likely from frequently hosing it because the training of the hens to stay off the patio isn't working wel, we even got a cat who is petriefied of said chickens)! The grout is a very dark grey. I can recall a brush in grout being used but I can't remember which one. Can anyone send me a link of a dark grey brush in grout please and if there is any way of keeping it once opened without it going hard? Thanks

Thanks, thats good to know. I'll try the cheap Ebay one with low expectations!

I think we may just try the Sentry as an easy option to see how we get on and then if it doesn't work we can explore other options. I'm worried adding things to water if it may impact things like people on low sodium diets and we would have to tell our Airbnb guests staying with us! I've seen a seller Ebay https://ebay.us/m/wAecMl and I'm tempted to just get 2 and fit one on our cold water entry in the utility and another on the Quooker as an additional backup (the cold feed doesn't come in the kitchen but I guess it wouldn't do any harm fitting another). If it doesn't work then we will have to go back to the drawing board. To get a cold 'hard feed into our kitchen Wrekin said their plumber would charge at least £500 and would involve quite a bit of work and drilling walls which I really don't want to do.

Any thoughts on these two options? This is the reply from Wrekin. With regards to polyphosphate, It is a scale conditioner, not a softener. It doesn't remove the calcium, instead, the polyphosphate dissolves slowly to coat the calcium to change its format, so it adds the polyphosphate to your water by coating the calcium, it is food grade and usually comes from fish oils. Calcium, looks like a Jaggard snowflake underneath a microscope, and when heated, sticks together like a jigsaw puzzle causing limescale build up. Poly phosphate coats the calcium into a ball shape, so it bounces off each other when heated and slows the process of build up down. It won't help with your skin, but it should help against your taps, toilets and showers. With your quooker, I am unsure how they work, but I am sure they have like a boiler, which constantly heats water? In which case, if you re-boil the water over and over, the calcium in the water will revert back to its original state of the snowflake shape and may cause limescale build up. Poly phosphate is a slow dissolving material, so the items on our website should be ok for whole house, but we would need to check your flow rates. You will also require an annual service and fresh or a top up of poly phosphate - We sell ours in refill packs so you can empty the cartridge in to a sieve, rinse and rid of any build up, and put it back into the cartridge, topping up when necessary and reinstalling. Other Poly Phosphate systems have cartridges that don't open, but you need to change instead on an annual basis, which encourages unnecessary waste and expense. If you are looking for a scale conditioner, I would actually recommend our life science Sentry. This is an electric device, but the beauty of it, it does not require any plumbing or servicing! Just a 3 pin socket. It pulsates small pulses through the pipe so that the calcium changes into a ball shape. If you ever move, you can take it with you. Would also save the costs of a plumber and any messing of the pipework, so might be a better option for you? This is a one off cost with no servicing required. The manufacturer suggests a 15-20 year life approximately and I think it costs less than £5 electric a year - which would be cheaper than a service on polyphosphate. Again, if you are re-boiling water over and over, it can reverse the affect and revert back to a jigsaw shape, but that's the same with any scale conditioner. Again, it won't help your skin, but will help the toilets taps etc. Some of our customers try the sentry first (as it is a one off cost) and see how they get on. Because there is no plumbing involved, if in a year they change there minds, there is no additional plumbing work in removing plumbed in systems, which can add to the labour cost. Both the polyphosphate and sentry achieve the same thing, but in different methods. With both the polyphosphate and the sentry, you will still have calcium in the water, so you will notice scale in the kettle, but it should be in a powder form and should be far easier to clean as the calcium is treated, its easier to wipe away. Any calcium in the water, treated or untreated, can dry your skin as it is an irritant. The only way to remove calcium from your water supply and stop any future calcium build up, is with a water softener. (That does require salt - anything that doesn't require salt is a conditioner not a softener) Water Softeners also remove existing build up over time too. Poly Phosphate: https://wrekinwatertreatment.co.uk/products/vih10-bl-pp-scale-inhibitor-refillable-whole-house-system-10in?_pos=4&_psq=pP&_ss=e&_v=1.0 Sentry: https://wrekinwatertreatment.co.uk/products/water-king-sentry-scale-conditioner?_pos=1&_psq=sentry&_ss=e&_v=1.0 We have the Polyphosphate and the Sentry's in stock, if you would like to order one of those instead of having a softener installed?

Yep we would have to have another filter on the kitchen tap to prevent limescale in the Quooker tank/tap which is a major pain but make it safe to drink which is why I'm going down the Combimate/similar first for whole house to see if that helps.

Yes he did mention it not remembering the settings in the event of a power cut and that if I wanted it to do the regeneration cycle at a specific time e.g. during Octopus cheap rate (say 4am) rather than it's standard 2am cycle I'd need to trick it to think the time was 2 hours later than it was by setting the clock for 2 hours later. We also suffer frequently with power cuts which is why I was tempted to go for the non electric one. I think we are going to look into Combimate or the Wrekin equivalent first and see if this has any impact on limescale before going down the softener route. Whilst soft water, using less detergent etc would be great my main gripe is limescale and it's a bit of a faff trying keep the cold water feed hard in our kitchen to then have to fit a separate device on it anyway. If we try it for a while without success then we can explore the softeners.

Yes we only had it descaled 2 weeks ago! I'll see what Wrekin water say, I've also messaged Combimate too. I'm not disregarding a softener completely alongside something like the Combimate or an equivalent (and if the one from Wrekin does the same job as a Combimate I'm tempted to go with them as they are 10 mins away so any issues we have them nearby). As you say, maybe get something like this fitted first and see if it has any impact rather than get a softener and a Combimate (or equivalent) right away.

That sounds like a good idea to see how we get on. I was looking at Combimate and just to understand any similar products are these the same concept? https://wrekinwatertreatment.co.uk/collections/polyphosphate-dosing

Strangely Kinetico have partnered with Quooker and yet ask either any company questions about water softeners on Quooker Combi/Cube and drinking it and you can't get a straight answer! https://www.kinetico.co.uk/quooker

Thanks, I'll look into the Combimate ... its getting more expensive than I'd hoped. I take it Combimate is not recommended for the whole house as it is a conditioner rather than softener....