Frequently Asked Questions

We are based near Wimborne (Unit 7, Oak Field Road, Axis 31, Three Legged Cross, BH21 6FE) and cover most of Dorset, parts of Wiltshire and Hampshire – just give us a call and we would be happy to let you know if we can service your area.

Monday – Friday 09:00 – 12:00; 13:00 – 16:00

Saturday 09:00 – 13:00

We sell, install and service water softeners, drinking water systems and Quooker boiling taps.  We also sell water softener salt, available for both delivery and collection.

Yes – we offer a free, no obligation home survey.  In the survey we understand your needs and requirements, assess water hardness, pressure, look at the location of your stop-cock/pipework, drainage/overflow, and which taps stay unsoftened.  With these things in mind we provide you with a quote for you to then decide if you would like to proceed to installation.

A typical water softener installation takes about half a day; water is off for roughly 2–3 hours. Our installer will talk through the plans for installation, carry out the work in a tidy manor and then talk you through to your system to ensure you know how to use it.

We started in 2000 and have been supporting our customers ever since.  We have full time office staff to answer your calls and emails, as well as a full time plumber and service engineer.  We can offer healthchecks or servicing and also sell salt available for delivery or collection.

You can order by phone or online. Deliveries typically arrive within 10-14 days; salt can also be collected six days a week from our office.

We specialise in non-electric softeners.  We supply and install Infinity manufactured by Kinetico and TwinTec manufactured by Harveys ; you’ll also see partner brands like Quooker boiling taps and Aquamatic for three way taps.

Yes – both.

Commercial – you can find out more information on the process of working with us on our commercial page 

Trade – yes, we work with a number of bathroom and kitchen companies.  We are happy to work directly with them, often required with kitchen companies to ensure the right pipework is in place for the water softener between 1st and 2nd fit.

We offer a disconnect, store and re-install service: this service involves us removing the water softener and caping off at your current home, store and health-check at our workshop, survey at your new home, then return your softener and reinstall to protect your new home against the impacts of limescale.

Call 01202 828 241, email info@southernsoftflow.co.uk, or use the website contact form.

Yes we can. We specialise in non-electric softeners so have the parts available to be able to service/repair even if we did not install them.  In the case of electric we are not always able to source the parts, it is on a case by case basis.  We would recommend giving us a call and we will share our honest opinion.

You will see an immediate effect when it comes to new scale forming, you should not see ANY! Existing marks (kettles, shower glass) start to soften and clean away over days to weeks; deeper boiler/cylinder deposits reduce gradually over months/years depending on how thick the limescale was in the first place.  So a water softener is able to, over time, reverse the damage of limescale.

Yes – it extends the life of many appliances in the house such a boiler, washing machine, dishwasher, coffee machines, kettles.   For drinking/cooking, it is best practice to leave an unsoftened tap (or offer reverse osmosis).  An unsoftened tap is recommended for anyone on a low sodium diet or where you may be making formula for babies.  Where possible we also try to leave your outside tap unsoftened, some plants do not life softened water but also you don’t want to waste salt watering your garden.

We offer a disconnect, store and re-install service: this service involves us removing the water softener and caping off at your current home, store and health-check at our workshop, survey at your new home, then return your softener and reinstall to protect your new home against the impacts of limescale.

Yes we can. We specialise in non-electric softeners so have the parts available to be able to service/repair even if we did not install them.  In the case of electric we are not always able to source the parts, it is on a case by case basis.  We would recommend giving us a call and we will share our honest opinion.

You will see an immediate effect when it comes to new scale forming, you should not see ANY! Existing marks (kettles, shower glass) start to soften and clean away over days to weeks; deeper boiler/cylinder deposits reduce gradually over months/years depending on how thick the limescale was in the first place.  So a water softener is able to, over time, reverse the damage of limescale.

Yes – it extends the life of many appliances in the house such a boiler, washing machine, dishwasher, coffee machines, kettles.   For drinking/cooking, it is best practice to leave an unsoftened tap (or offer reverse osmosis).  An unsoftened tap is recommended for anyone on a low sodium diet or where you may be making formula for babies.  Where possible we also try to leave your outside tap unsoftened, some plants do not life softened water but also you don’t want to waste salt watering your garden.

We size the system during a free home survey based on water hardness, peak flow (showers/taps running together), no. of bathrooms and number of people in the house, and available installation space—so you get the right capacity without overspending.

Common locations are under the kitchen sink or in a utility cupboard. Garage or outbuilding installs are also possible with proper frost protection. As part of the no obligation survey we look at the location of your stopcock, ask you where you would like to have the softener installed and then see what options would be possible bearing in mind drainage, overflow and your drinking water requirements.

Yes. Best practice is to keep at least one cold tap (usually the kitchen) on unsoftened water however soft water is perfectly safe to drink.  We can also pair this with a range of filters or reverse osmosis systems depending on whether you have any concerns about what is in your drinking water.

We connect your softener to the mains cold feed, fit a bypass set and ensure compliant drain/overflow are installed.  Once in place we commission the unit, and show you how to add salt. Most installs can be completed in half a day.

Use high-purity softener salt (tablet/block, depending on the model). We stock the both block and tablet salt and can deliver or arrange collection from our unit in Three Legged Cross.

You will see an immediate effect when it comes to new scale forming, you should not see ANY! Existing marks (kettles, shower glass) start to soften and clean away over days to weeks; deeper boiler/cylinder deposits reduce gradually over months/years depending on how thick the limescale was in the first place.  So a water softener is able to, over time, reverse the damage of limescale.

Running costs are block or tablet salt to ensure your softener is able to continue to soften your water and optional annual health check/service. Salt usage depends on your water hardness and household use; we typically say in the case of block salt you are likely to use 1 block, per person, per month.  You can visit our shop to understand the price of salt.

Our most popular non-electric models continue to work without power and regenerate by water flow. All installs include a manual bypass, so you can isolate the unit easily when needed (e.g., extended holidays or maintenance).

Yes – we can either supply or supply and fit replacement cartridges. We remind customers if they are due a filter change so that hopefully its one less thing for you to have to remember.

Yes – we offer a free, no obligation home survey.  In the survey we understand your needs and requirements, assess water hardness, pressure, look at the location of your stop-cock/pipework, drainage/overflow, and which taps stay unsoftened.  With these things in mind we provide you with a quote for you to then decide if you would like to proceed to installation.

A typical water softener installation takes about half a day; water is off for roughly 2–3 hours. Our installer will talk through the plans for installation, carry out the work in a tidy manor and then talk you through to your system to ensure you know how to use it.

We started in 2000 and have been supporting our customers ever since.  We have full time office staff to answer your calls and emails, as well as a full time plumber and service engineer.  We can offer healthchecks or servicing and also sell salt available for delivery or collection.

We specialise in non-electric softeners.  We supply and install Infinity manufactured by Kinetico and TwinTec manufactured by Harveys ; you’ll also see partner brands like Quooker boiling taps and Aquamatic for three way taps.

Yes – both.

Commercial – you can find out more information on the process of working with us on our commercial page 

Trade – yes, we work with a number of bathroom and kitchen companies.  We are happy to work directly with them, often required with kitchen companies to ensure the right pipework is in place for the water softener between 1st and 2nd fit.

We offer a disconnect, store and re-install service: this service involves us removing the water softener and caping off at your current home, store and health-check at our workshop, survey at your new home, then return your softener and reinstall to protect your new home against the impacts of limescale.

Yes we can. We specialise in non-electric softeners so have the parts available to be able to service/repair even if we did not install them.  In the case of electric we are not always able to source the parts, it is on a case by case basis.  We would recommend giving us a call and we will share our honest opinion.

You will see an immediate effect when it comes to new scale forming, you should not see ANY! Existing marks (kettles, shower glass) start to soften and clean away over days to weeks; deeper boiler/cylinder deposits reduce gradually over months/years depending on how thick the limescale was in the first place.  So a water softener is able to, over time, reverse the damage of limescale.

Yes – it extends the life of many appliances in the house such a boiler, washing machine, dishwasher, coffee machines, kettles.   For drinking/cooking, it is best practice to leave an unsoftened tap (or offer reverse osmosis).  An unsoftened tap is recommended for anyone on a low sodium diet or where you may be making formula for babies.  Where possible we also try to leave your outside tap unsoftened, some plants do not life softened water but also you don’t want to waste salt watering your garden.

We size the system during a free home survey based on water hardness, peak flow (showers/taps running together), no. of bathrooms and number of people in the house, and available installation space—so you get the right capacity without overspending.

Common locations are under the kitchen sink or in a utility cupboard. Garage or outbuilding installs are also possible with proper frost protection. As part of the no obligation survey we look at the location of your stopcock, ask you where you would like to have the softener installed and then see what options would be possible bearing in mind drainage, overflow and your drinking water requirements.

Yes. Best practice is to keep at least one cold tap (usually the kitchen) on unsoftened water however soft water is perfectly safe to drink.  We can also pair this with a range of filters or reverse osmosis systems depending on whether you have any concerns about what is in your drinking water.

We connect your softener to the mains cold feed, fit a bypass set and ensure compliant drain/overflow are installed.  Once in place we commission the unit, and show you how to add salt. Most installs can be completed in half a day.

Running costs are block or tablet salt to ensure your softener is able to continue to soften your water and optional annual health check/service. Salt usage depends on your water hardness and household use; we typically say in the case of block salt you are likely to use 1 block, per person, per month.  You can visit our shop to understand the price of salt.

Use high-purity softener salt (tablet/block, depending on the model). We stock the both block and tablet salt and can deliver or arrange collection from our unit in Three Legged Cross.

Our most popular non-electric models continue to work without power and regenerate by water flow. All installs include a manual bypass, so you can isolate the unit easily when needed (e.g., extended holidays or maintenance).

If you live in a hard-water area, pairing an RO with a softener is ideal. Softening protects the RO membrane from limescale, extends service life and helps the system run more efficiently. We can advise on the best setup during a home survey.

Most go under the kitchen sink with a small, dedicated drinking-water tap or three way tap. Depending on space and access, installation can also be in a utility cupboard or adjacent cabinet, with a neat route to drain and the cold feed.

RO systems use a number of cartridges depending on what type of filtration they offer most will have pre-filters, the RO membrane and a polishing/post filter. Pre-filters are typically replaced every 6–12 months, the membrane every 2–5 years, and the post filter annually.  Southern Softflow can advise on this at enquiry.

RO creates a small concentrate stream that goes to drain as it purifies. Modern units are significantly improving the amount of waste water. During a survey, Southern Softflow can estimate likely ratios for your home and make sure the drain connection is compliant and tidy.

This is often possible, but not always. If this is important to you please let us know on survey. Southern Softflow will confirm compatibility and, if possible, ensure that you are fit with discrete pipework when installing.

RO requires adequate mains pressure and a bit of under-sink space for the cartridges (and, where applicable, a small storage tank). In a home survey we would check pressure, flow, drainage and layout so the install is seamless.

Most RO installs are completed in a single visit (often a couple of hours), with minimal disruption. We would talk you through the install before carrying out the work, commissioning the RO, and a full handover on using your new drinking-water tap.

Running costs are block or tablet salt to ensure your softener is able to continue to soften your water and optional annual health check/service. Salt usage depends on your water hardness and household use; we typically say in the case of block salt you are likely to use 1 block, per person, per month.  You can visit our shop to understand the price of salt.

Use high-purity softener salt (tablet/block, depending on the model). We stock the both block and tablet salt and can deliver or arrange collection from our unit in Three Legged Cross.