Water softeners in
Bishop's Stortford.
Bishop's Stortford's water is hard, and you can see it on every tap and shower screen in town. We fit water softeners across CM23 and the surrounding villages, with a fixed quote before any work starts.
Hard water in Bishop's Stortford
Affinity Water's 2025 report for the Bishop Stortford supply zone measured an average total hardness of 345 mg/l (as calcium carbonate) — “very hard” on the Drinking Water Inspectorate's scale. See every town’s figure.
Stortford's housing runs from Victorian streets around the town centre to the 1980s and 1990s estates and the newest homes at Bishop's Park and St Michael's Mead. In older houses the incoming main often rises in an awkward spot, so we look at where it comes in before suggesting where the softener should go.
In newer homes there's often a utility room or a deep kitchen cupboard that makes an easy home for a softener, close to the stop tap.
Check your postcode
Your water company publishes the hardness for your postcode. Most of our area is supplied by Affinity Water — search “water hardness” on affinitywater.co.uk and enter your postcode. If your bill comes from a different company, use their website instead.
What fitting a softener involves
We find the best place on your incoming main — usually under the kitchen sink, in a utility room or in a garage. The softener goes in with a bypass so it can be isolated for servicing, and a non-return valve on the supply.
We usually fit a separate unsoftened drinking-water tap at the kitchen sink, run the drain and overflow properly, then set the softener up and show you how it works.
Supplied by us or by you — either way, you get a fixed quote before any work starts.
Hard water across Herts and Essex scales up taps, showers and heating. A softener fitted on the incoming main stops it at the source.
More about plumbing & heating in Bishop's Stortford.
Keep reading.
Hard water in Herts & Essex
Why our water is so hard, what it does in your home, and how to check your postcode.
Read the guideTypes of water softener, explained
Harvey's, Kinetico, Monarch and Tapworks compared — power, salt and regeneration.
Read the guideWhat does a water softener cost to run?
Salt, water, power and servicing: where the running costs come from and how to keep them low.
Read the guideHad enough of
hard water?
Tell us where your stop tap is and send a photo if you can — we'll come back with a fixed quote for fitting a softener.