water softener systems
Galway Water Solutions specialise in water softener, water filter, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet and well water treatment.
We are Ireland's largest importers of top brand Clack water treatment products and Europe's highest ranked WQA Certified Water Specialists, ideal credentials for well water installations, covering Galway County and beyond.
Water softeners and well water systems are two product areas in which we lead the field. Using INAB certified water testing and correctly chosen top brand well water systems, our water filter systems last the longest with the lowest running costs.
Our water softener, reverse osmosis, water filter, ultraviolet are the best value in Ireland. Clack water softener products are recognised as the most advanced, specified and reliable. No water softener comes close to Clack water softeners.
November Sale : picture right : 10x54 stainless steel meter water softener with grey, black or white salt tank only €995 installed with 10 year parts and labour - with a €100 per decade lifetime service for warranty option after 10 years. DIY only €695. Only 30 systems left, offer ends when stock has gone. Other offers available from €595 diy and €795 installed for US made metered systems.
We offer the best quality, specification, price. Browse our website for any useful information or ask for a free survey. We offer a friendly individual service, with top level water treatment NSF Certified designed to last 30 to 40 years.
Drinking water filters save on bottled water which is seen as ecologically harmful costing 1,000's of times more than filtered water of equal or better quality. Our reverse osmosis water filter systems provide mineral balance similar to Volvic and are discounted when bought with a water softener system. The system and service cost can be paid for within the first year of equivalent bottled water costs.
Clack water softeners offer the best brand quality, reliability, specification, best purchase cost, operating and service cost. With our warranty no annual service costs are required, other firms can charge €100 per year. Compare salt use of 2 to 6 bags salt per year, old timer softeners use 12 to 20 bags per year.
We offer water treatment for hardness / limescale, iron, manganese, sulphur, odour, colour, pH, lead and bacteria from private wells, rain tanks, rivers, lakes, springs and mains water, corrected within EU Directives / EPA limits by water experts - see our WQA.org Certified Water Specialist rankings.
We locate water filter, water softener, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet and whole house water treatment systems in practical locations. Outside housings available. See link for Rainwater Harvesting and Purification. A water softener will descale all existing limescale from plumbing. Clack water softener systems are compatible with all sceptic tanks. Zero sodium chloride to household supply. Mineral hardness of reverse osmosis water filters is similar to Volvic bottled water - but 1/10th the sodium. Water treatment for wells usually include ultraviolet for bacterial disinfection.
Combine a water softener for limescale hardness with reverse osmosis to guarantee full filtration. Ultraviolet is optional for mains water but recommended for private wells. A water softener targets 98% to 99% of household water - toilets, baths, showers etc, for limescale hardness removal, - reverse osmosis filters 1% to 2% of mains volume for the best drinking water.
We follow Water Quality Association ethics of honesty, integrity, fair dealing and professionalism. Galway Water Solutions are the highest ranking WQA Certified Water Specialists - VI in Europe, the first WQA Certified Installers in Europe - and the first WQA Certified Sales Representatives in Europe - See WQA.org
See PDF brochure for Clack water softener systems, water filters, reverse osmosis systems, ultraviolet disinfection, private well and general water treatment or telephone 1890 222 000 - we will post a brochure or quote a price for water treatment systems over the phone.
WQA Gold Seal : http://www.wqa.org/goldseal/movie/wqa_wb/index.html
customer orientated service
Galway Water Solutions provide the highest quality of service in Ireland, we answer calls during weekdays and weekends. We provide same day callouts for urgent service matters and arrange visits to customers at a time that suits you from 8am to 8pm including weekends for surveys and service.
value for money expert service 
Galway Water Solutions set the benchmark for water treatment using Clack water softener, reverse osmosis, water filters and ultraviolet lamps using expert knowledge, unbeatable warranties, best aftersales care and low service fees. No salesmen or commissions, no contracts or deposits.
The majority of our water softener, reverse osmosis water systems, water filters, ultraviolet sterilisers, rainwater harvesting systems and well water filter sales are gained by client recommendation.
Quality Service Guidelines:
1) All other quotes are guaranteed to be beaten and we offer better products
2) We are the largest direct importers of top level water products from the US
3) Best quality US made brands, all brands are NSF and WQA Gold Seal
4) WQA Certified Water Specialists - the highest ranked in Europe - Level 6
5) Best equipped vans in Ireland - with the highest quality installation service
6) No salesmen / No commissions / No contracts / No depositsrequested
7) Best warranty terms available with an excellent after sales support service
8) The lowest in system service costs, with a clear transparent pricing policy
9) Three year money back warranty - also full 20 year warranties available
10) Service 8am to 8pm Monday to Sunday with 365 - same day call outs
Council grants are available - 2,031 euros or 75% of equipment cost, also water filter systems have reduced in cost by 30% since 2008 in Ireland, so value for money has peaked.
When specifying water treatment systems we take account of water flow, water pressure and water chemistry, being careful to factor in possible negative langelier or other minor aesthetic issues. Low langelier acts similar to low pH acidity where copper pipes may yield green or bluish stains on baths, sinks (or blond hair!), even if pH is neutral. Seasonal temperature swings can affect langelier.
Wilkes University : http://www.water-research.net/corrosion.htm
Lenntech : http://www.lenntech.com/ro/index/langelier.htm
Our areas of expertise are water softening and private well water treatment. We identify water aesthetics affected by heavy rainfall like organic tannins which give a light tint to water, cured by activated carbon, or if heavier the use of anion resin. Some waters have excessive levels of sediments (3 to 70 microns) even after water softening so additional sediment filtration may be required. Few wells have a serious grit problem, (70+ microns) where large manual or auto strainer water filter units are required.
Tannin derived organic colour, limescale hardness and turbidity are harmless with regard to drinking water regulations, but should be removed prior to uv ultraviolet. Tannins cause Zeolite medias to fail prematurely and if organics/ tannins are combined with chlorine they can produce harmful THMs. Effective well water treatment should include hardness, colour and turbidity correction. Where iron, manganese and odours are concerned, aeration is the key along with pH control.
Concentrations of contaminants vary widely and have different effects and visibility depending on the parameter. Lead and arsenic are heavy metals which are toxic in low levels and have limits in the low parts per billions, and when excessive above levels of 10 ppb are still odourless, colourless and tasteless.
Iron is not visible or toxic in the low parts per billion range but at concentrations of above 200 parts per billion they pose a problem with increasingly high clouding and brown sludging of water supplies towards 1 part per million above which they become very excessive, although not excessively toxic compared to lead and arsenic.
Tannin colour has no health implications in levels of 10 parts per million or 100 parts per million, but within this range the water supply will range from slightly yellow to a darker yellow to brown tint and off putting visibly and to an extent having an odd taste. Water hardness in the form of mineral scale has minor implications at levels of 50 ppm and only becomes a nuisance in the 100's of ppm especially above 200 ppm and extra troublesome at 400 ppm for pipework and water heaters, although no health reference value is given to it at any level.
Sodium is only given a tap water / drinking water limitation at 200 ppm although bottled waters are allowed to contain ten times this level - say 2000 ppm, without controls or restrictions by water bottlers, just as soya sauce can be sold with sodium levels in excess of 5,000 ppm without any restriction.
In well water close to coastal areas, sodium in itself is not a problem to pipework or water heaters in 100's of ppm or 1000's of ppm even at ten times the level found in artificially softened water. At levels between 5,000 to 10,000 ppm when accompanied by chlorides and at levels above these, salt crystals may start to form and salinity may have some effect on pipework.
It is easy to get the impression of fresh well water or spring water as being healthy or safe to drink compared to softened water, but without testing well water you may be drinking arsenic or lead undetectable by the senses in levels above safe European and HSE limits which may cause long term carcenogenic or nervous system damage.
Compare safe lead or arsenic levels to legal bottled water with sodium concentrations at 10,000 to 100,000 times those levels - there is a big difference in toxicity - sodium will still be reasonably undetectable by the senses, with maybe a slight risk of reversible higher blood pressure for some people, however if lead or arsenic were just 100 times or 1000 times their safe levels, there would be a risk of highly toxic bodily shock or reasonably fast and irreversible nervous system damage.
Galway Water Solutions import water softener, water treatment and water filter systems into Ireland directly from the U.S. No other Irish owned business imports half as many Clack water softners direct from America. We offer best water treatment products and best value for money inIreland for correction of limescale hardness, well water and drinkingwater.
Smaller, lower specified, inefficient water softners are no match to properly sized water treatment systems. See our news clip on the right about all mini cabinet water softner problems. Pricing from basic water filters to full water treatment can range from 100 to 3,000 euros, from a single DIY mains fed water filter drinking point to a professionally installed well water fed whole house water treatment system.
Single water filter cartridges are used mainly for basic drinking water filtering or as a pre-filter to ultraviolet systems but are limited in scope for softening, desalination and whole house or private well applications. Highly specified water filter systems using a variety of water treatment technologies are able to cope with the most demanding water treatment jobs.
You will find our water softners, reverse osmosis, water filters, water treatment and ultraviolet sterilizers offer the best value for money in Ireland.
Mineral water, (by definition - water molecules that contains dissolved material) is water that usually contains at least 250 parts per million of dissolved solids, or for every 3999 water molecules, there is one impure atom of some kind, and typically from 0 to 250 ppm of dissolved solids for spring waters. Impurities found in mineral water and borehole water such as sulphur, give water a rotten egg odour and taste. A mineral can also be defined as any solid containing a uniform structure such as rock.
By definition, mineral water is impure. These impurities can add a foul taste and depending on the dissolved mineral and caneven be unhealthy (eg. lead, arsenic, sulphates, etc.). Also by definition pure water is a much safer water that is essentially just H2Omolecules without colour, taste or odour. When minerals are introducedinto water they can often mask the taste of underlying impurities that are not so desirable to the human body.
We require a certain amount of trace minerals to maintain our health, certainly. However, organic trace minerals found in safe composition in foods are needed in such small quantities that anyone with a balanced diet will have absolutely no need to risk gaining other minerals, and often higherrisk impurities using mineral waters that exceed safe tap water limits at the same time offering very little usable mineral content even in thehighest laden mineral water.
Given the uncertain composition of various types of mineral and spring waters, there may be practically no mineral content such as in some spring waters and other mineral waters heavy in impurities can exceed EUDrinking Water Directives (for impurities set for tap water) by marginsof 200%, 300%, 400% and more. Many of these are listed on MineralWaters.Org
The truth is that people develop a powerful belief subconsciously that they can do something very simple to improve their health. However, by drinking mineral waters with higher exposures of unsuitable trace elements, you can be taking a significant risk. You may have no idea of the identity ofthe dissolved impurities, and all too often bottled waters fail simple microbiological testing, year after year in high percentages.
As for the taste of water, pure water should have no taste, and to really add some flavour to water we usually need to add concentrations of flavour additives such as fruit concentrates and sugars at levels of up to 15% to 20% of total content or in the range of 150,000 to 200,000 ppm. As spring and mineral composition is in the range of usually 0% to0.05% or 0 to 500 ppm, at these levels, the effect of taste is really insignificant, there are no calories, vitamins or any real nutritional content, so it is more a question of avoiding bad tastes and impurities,not so much whether taste masking minerals are present.
A safer and more cost effective approach to drinking water in Ireland isto drink filtered water. You'll be drinking a much purer, healthy water, without taste and odour causing impurities and without ingesting potentially dangerous dissolved solids of an unknown origin.
What is water softening?
Water softening is the removal of calcium and a few other minerals that can cause our working water to damage household property (99% of the domestic household water used for toilets, baths, showers, washing machines, heating system etc). When it deposits as scale, calcium carbonate (limestone) is an abrasive rock like mineral.
Why soften your water?
Calcium that is dissolved in water forms deposits that:
* Abrade and fray the threads in clothing
* Stick to clothing and other household products and appliances (You can feel the difference between towels that are new and those that have been repeatedly laundered in hard water. Those laundered in hard water ones are rough, the result of rock encrustations embedded in the fibers.)
* Spot dishes, faucets, sinks, toilets, cars, in fact all surfaces, with a microscopic film of limestone.
* Deposits buildup inside water pipes, heaters, and bathroom and kitchen fixtures.
* Gas water heaters used 29% less energy to heat water and electric water heaters used 21% less energy when operated on softened water according to a study done by New Mexico State University. See the latest study : the Battelle Memorial Institute water hardness study.
How can water be softened?
* Presently there is only one practical, and cost effective way for homeowners to soften their water and that is through an ion exchange water softener, including portable exchange devices. Briefly here is how it works:
Ion exchange water softeners are filled with millions of tiny resin beads that attract and hold on to calcium. As the water passes through this resin "bed" the calcium is removed so it cannot harm your household goods.
* What happens when the resin beads are full of calcium?
The resin bed is rinsed with dissolved salt, usually table salt. The dissolved salt scours the calcium from the beads which prepares them to remove more calcium. This rinsing process takes place every few thousand litres of metered water flow over a week or so, then a point at the end of the softening cycle is chosen by meter systems to wash, usually at 2am on a chosen night.
Are there other alternatives that remove calcium from the water?
* Not that we are aware of at this time. Some other technologies can remove calcium but at a very high cost in energy or wasted water. Ion exchange water softening is the most cost efficient method to remove calcium.
I've heard of other "salt free" devices that are offered as alternatives. What are they and what do they do?
* First of all, you need to talk to the manufacturer of these devices and see what facts or data they claim.
* Consumer protection laws are clear. Manufacturers must have scientific test data to back up their claims for their particular product.
* Since no testing standard exists in the US for these devices the WQA have not tested nor certified these products. (More on testing and certification below)
* We understand that there are products that are marketed as scale control devices.
* Scale is the rock like mineral deposit (limestone) made up of calcium carbonate that forms inside water heaters, pipes, and fixtures over a period of time.
* Scale control devices can have the ability under certain circumstances to help reduce the amount of scaling inside these pipes and fixtures.
* To our knowledge these scale control devices do not claim to remove calcium or produce soft water.
* Controlling scale inside pipes, water heaters, and fixtures is an important benefit but it is only a partial benefit.
What is product certification?
* Product certification is usually referred to as Conformity Assessment. This term is used to describe steps taken by both manufacturers and independent third parties to determine fulfillment of standards requirements. It involves testing products in a laboratory according to a standard procedure and it also involves periodic audit inspections of the manufacturing facility to insure that the product that was tested conforms to the ones currently being manufactured. The Water Quality Association is an organization that is certified by the American National Standards Institute for conformity assessment.
What is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and what is its role?
* The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has served in its capacity as administrator and coordinator of the United States private sector voluntary standardization system for more than 90 years.
* The Institute recognizes the competence of bodies to carry out product or personnel certification in accordance with requirements defined in International Standards. ANSI’s accreditation programs operate in accordance with international guidelines and have been verified by government and peer review assessments.
* ANSI’s program for accrediting thirdâparty product certification have experienced significant growth in recent years, and the Institute continues its efforts to obtain worldwide acceptance of accredited certifications performed in the U.S.
* One of the best indicators of the strength of the U.S. system is the government’s extensive reliance on, and use of, private sector voluntary standards. Pursuant to OMB Circular A119, federal government agencies are required to use voluntary standards for regulatory and procurement purposes when appropriate. State and local governments and agencies have formally adopted thousands of voluntary standards produced by ANSI, and the process appears to be accelerating.
What is the Water Quality Association’s Gold Seal and what does it mean to consumers?
* The WQA Gold Seal is awarded only to products that have passed laboratory tests, literature review, materials assessment, and have been submitted to periodic audits according to ANSI NSF Standards (NSF stands for the National Sanitation Foundation, a standards writing body the conforms with ANSI standards.)
What do the WQA seals mean?
* Each technology is tested according to a different standard. Look at the seal to see which standard the product was tested for. (See the picture of the seal with the references to the different standards)
* To avoid confusion here are the basic standards with some clarifying notes:
Standard 42 Drinking Water Treatment Units Aesthetic Effects. These products are certified only for taste or odor or staining. No health claims have been certified for products tested according to this standard.
Standard 44 Cation exchange water softeners. These products are certified for the removal of hardness (calcium). Some manufacturers have also had their softeners certified for the removal of barium and radium.
Standard 53 Drinking Water Treatment Units Health Effects. These products are certified for the removal of specific health contaminants. Look for the manufacturer’s listing of the contaminants that were tested. Certified contaminant removal claims can only be made for the listed contaminants on the literature.
Standard 55 Ultraviolet Microbiological Water Treatment Systems
Standard 58 Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Systems
Standard 61 Drinking Water Treatment Components Health Effects. This standard insures that the product itself does not impart health contaminants to the drinking water that comes in contact with it. The other standards all require this kind of testing as part of their certification. These are 42, 44, 53, 55, 58, and 62. Standard 61 testing does not include any performance testing.
Standard 62 Drinking Water Distillation Systems
Standard 171 Shower Filtration Systems Aesthetic Effects
A full listing of all products that have been certified by WQA can be found on the WQA web site – www.WQA.org.
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