Choose your taps wisely. Think about the water quality in your area, and ask your installer for advice on which materials are best suited. Above all, go for quality. By investing in well-made taps and showers you’ll have a much easier job of keeping them pristine for years to come.
This water hardness map is a guide only. To confirm your water hardness please visit your local water authority website.
why is hard water a problem?
Hard water itself isn't necessarily a problem. In history people enjoyed the healing effects of it. For example, the mineral-rich springs in Bath are famous for those healing properties.
However, hard water can have other unwanted side-effects, especially on your taps and showers. If hard water is heated past or left to stand, the dissolved minerals in it solidify as the moisture evaporates. These solidified minerals are called limescale. Limescale will often cover taps and build up in shower heads and it can be difficult to remove.
According to water-guide.org.uk that in an average 4 person household generates up to 70kg
of limescale in a single year. That is a lot of limescale to try to keep in control!
What can you do yourself to help keep the limescale at bay and your Bristan taps and showers in tip top working condition?
Find out more below.
water hardness by area
England
Bath - Hard
Birmingham - Moderate/Hard
Blackburn - Soft
Blackpool - Soft
Bolton - Soft
Bournemouth - Hard
Bradford - Soft
Brighton - Hard
Bristol - Hard
Bromley - Hard
Cambridge - Hard
Canterbury - Hard
Carlisle - Hard/Soft
Chelmsford - Hard
Chester - Soft/Hard
Cleveland [Teesside] - Soft
Colchester - Hard
Coventry - Hard
Crewe - Soft
Croydon - Hard
Darlington - Soft
Dartford - Hard
Derby - Hard/Soft
Doncaster - Hard
Dorchester - Hard
Dudley - Moderate
Durham - Soft
Enfield - Hard
Exeter - Soft
Gloucester - Moderate
Guildford - Hard
Halifax - Soft
Harrogate - Soft
Harrow - Hard
Hemel Hempstead - Hard
Hereford - Moderate
Huddersfield - Soft
Hull - Hard
Ilford - Hard
Ipswich - Hard
Kingston upon Thames - Hard
Lancaster - Soft
Leeds - Hard/Soft
Leicester - Hard
Lincoln - Hard
Liverpool - Soft
London E - Hard
London EC - Hard
London N - Hard
London NW - Hard
London SE - Hard
London SW - Hard
London W - Hard
London WC - Hard
Luton - Hard
Manchester - Soft
Medway / Rochester - Hard
Milton Keynes - Hard
Newcastle upon Tyne - Hard
Northampton - Hard
Norwich - Hard
Nottingham - Hard
Oldham - Soft
Oxford - Hard
Peterborough - Hard
Plymouth - Soft
Portsmouth - Hard
Preston - Soft
Reading - Hard
Redhill - Moderate
Romford - Hard
Salisbury - Hard
Sheffield - Hard
Slough - Hard
Southall Uxbridge - Hard
Southampton - Hard
Southend-on-Sea - Hard
St Albans - Hard
Stevenage - Hard
Stockport - Soft
Stoke-on-Trent - Hard
Sunderland - Hard
Sutton - Hard
Swindon - Hard
Taunton - Moderate
Telford - Hard
Tonbridge - Hard
Torquay - Soft
Truro - Soft
Twickenham - Hard
Wakefield - Hard
Walsall - Moderate
Warrington - Soft
Watford - Hard
Wigan - Soft
Wolverhampton - Hard
Worcester - Moderate
York – Hard
Wales
Cardiff - Soft
Llandrindod Wells - Moderate
Llandudno - Soft/Moderate
Newport - Moderate
Swansea - Soft
Shrewsbury - Moderate
Scotland
Aberdeen - Soft
Dundee - Soft
Dumfries & Galloway - Soft
Edinburgh – Soft/Moderate
Falkirk & Stirling - Soft
Glasgow - Soft
Galashiels - Soft
Inverness - Soft
Kilmarnock - Soft
Kirkwall - Soft
Kirkcaldy - Soft
Motherwell - Soft
Paisley - Soft
Perth - Soft
tips and hints for limescale free taps and showers
The best way is prevention - make tap cleaning part of your routine. By regularly giving your taps a quick wipe with water and a microfibre cloth you’ll maintain an everyday shine, and stop any major stains from settling in.
Don't throw away your old toothbrush, relegate it to cleaning duty. You may find that highly stylised taps and showers mean a collection of hard to reach nooks and crannies, but by using a toothbrush you can get into even the smallest spaces and ensure a complete clean.
Sometimes, natural remedies are still the best solution. If you don’t fancy the idea of chemicals in your bathroom, lemon juice is a fantastic way of shifting stubborn limescale. Simply soak cotton wool in the juice and apply to the affected areas – check back in an hour and with a little rubbing you’ll find that the residue comes away easily.
Homeowners
Installers
Merchants
Specifiers
