Willster

Combimate's refill is £27.50, though I assume the other products @PeterW mentioned offer cheaper options.

Even better, thanks @PeterW ?

I think I may have found the solution - it's considerably cheaper than the other options and compact in size ? In terms of reducing the effects of hard water, it's possible the Halcyon may be achieving the same result (I believe @lizzie's observations and doubt it's just a placebo effect, but I accept Halcyon's science is dodgy at best). The Combimate costs £171 and uses a "well-proven" technique. That's good enough for me.

That’s all very useful, thanks for your time @JSHarris. I’m now leaning more towards an ion exchange device, as I’d like no limescale at all, rather than just some kind of “soft” limescale (which might still clog up things like our coffee machine, despite Halcyon’s claims). I just need to find somewhere to put it!

@JSHarris Apology accepted! So I guess you have the kind of device that someone like TwinTec sells? (https://www.twintec.com). It's encouraging to know that the salt isn't as much as I thought and you only have to change it every 6 weeks. Still, the size of the devices put me off. @PeterW I was about to say that's cheaper than I was expecting, but I've just seen Lizzie's reply. Either way, it's a lot of money if it doesn't work! ? @lizzie thanks for your reply. It's interesting to know you've experienced exactly what Halcyon claim. I just wish it wasn't so expensive ?

@JSHarris, thanks for your reply. No I'm not at all associated with Halcyon - not one bit and I'm surprised you asked since I thought my post was fairly critical of the company (or at least of Polly!). I'm trying to keep an open mind and not be too quick to dismiss Halcyon's claims, but as things stand, I'm not going to spend a lot of money on something I have serious reservations about. Interestingly, I've noticed that Halcyon are based very near where I live (which is possibly why you asked?), but I can assure you that's just a coincidence. I might go and speak to them soon, but of course they'll do their best to convince me, so I'd rather not do so just yet. BTW, I've also looked at the Eddy device (http://www.eddy.uk.com/), but I'm sceptical of that too. Do you know if there are any non-salt based water "conditioners" that will reduce the effects of limescale? I'd rather not have the cost and hassle of replacing salt, which I gather can be a regular requirement. Also, we don't have much space (very little under the kitchen sink), so I'd rather not have one of those large water softeners I've seen online. @lizzie, thanks for your post. That's the thing I find difficult in all of this - people with a much better understanding of chemistry than me are dismissing Halcyon's claims, but there are many positive testimonials. I really don't know what to believe. If you don't mind me asking, in what way are you so sure that the device has made a difference? To be honest, if it was more like £50 then I'd buy one tomorrow and take the risk, but I gather it's very expensive (though I don't know that for sure - I need to contact Halcyon to find out!).

I appreciate this thread has pretty much died now, but I thought I'd revive it after spending some time looking into water softeners. To be honest, my initial impression was that Polly was being treated a little harshly and was somewhat "ganged up" against, but I'm no longer so sure... I don't understand the chemistry in detail, but I thought there might be something in Halcyon's claims after reading testimonials. We must remember that the absence of proof doesn't mean something doesn't work - it can be very difficult to prove certain things (with a background in health, I appreciate that not everything is as simple as comparing two pills in a placebo controlled trial). However, I've since come across two things : 1. Polly's LinkedIn profile which seems to suggest that her "scientific background" consists of an A Level in Chemistry (so not much) 2. This PDF which clearly states on page 12 that Halcyon softens water: http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/BRE-Sustainability-presentation.pdf So whilst I didn't think it was worth splitting hairs when Polly stated that the company doesn't advertise (it was pointed out that having a website is indeed advertising, but I knew what she meant), this clearly isn't true. This PDF is indeed advertising and I know that Halcyon have attended various events over the last few months, not to mention their regular updates to their social media feeds. So let's be clear, they do advertise and their literature still claims that they soften water. Unfortunately Polly no longer works for Halcyon, so I'm not sure if we can expect any further update from them. For example, it would be good to know the outcome of the trial she mentioned that was about to be conducted with a university. Without that, am I right in saying that observers such as JSHarris are convinced that Halcyon's claims are complete nonsense? Or would you not go that far? Are they at best possible, but unlikely to last more than a few seconds/minutes? I'm trying to gauge if there's any value in researching this further. I'm certainly not going to spend several hundred pounds on a tube of metal that effectively does nothing!