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Water softener types compared: salt, electrolytic and electronic
How a salt softener, tablet salt, an in-line electrolytic scale inhibitor and an electronic pipe conditioner differ, and why only the salt softener is the product DWI describes as softening water.
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Water softeners explains ion exchange, the unsoftened kitchen tap, and when the water company needs notice. This page compares the types of product Wickes actually lists, so a scale inhibitor is not bought as if it were a softener. We have not tested any of them. Hard water areas is the page for asking your water company how hard your supply is.
Four different things
| Type | What it is | Salt | What Wickes does not say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salt softener, electronic control | A plumbed-in softener. The WS455 listing says it adjusts its salt use to the hardness | Yes. The listing talks about salt consumption | It does not name block salt or tablets on the product page we read |
| Tablet salt | Salt for a softener, sold as 25kg tablets | This is the salt, not a softener | It is not block salt, and it is not dishwasher salt |
| Electrolytic scale inhibitor | A short metal body with compression ends, cut into a pipe | No. Wickes says no chemicals | It is not described as a softener |
| Electronic conditioner | A box and aerials wrapped around a pipe. No pipe is cut | No | It is not described as a softener. A features line about running cost has no measured figure, so it is left out |
We looked for block salt and did not find a softener block. A bag titled Suburban Salt Rock Salt, opened the same day, is labelled for de-icing. It is not softener salt, and it is not linked here. Use the salt the softener maker specifies. Dishwasher salt is a different product.
What "soften" means here
The Drinking Water Inspectorate explains water hardness and says magnetic devices do not soften the water. The electrolytic and electronic products below are not sold as magnetic devices, and they are also not sold as ion-exchange softeners. Wickes calls them a scale inhibitor and a scale conditioner. Do not read that as "this removes hardness". The limescale guide has DWI's caution about devices that do not soften, including asking for performance data in a home.
A salt softener is the type the softener guide describes: resin, regeneration, a drain, and an unsoftened drinking tap. DWI's advice to keep that drinking tap, and not to use softened water for baby feeds, sits on that guide. So does the notice to the water company. Regulation 5 of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 includes a water treatment unit that needs water for regeneration. Check the current rules where you live. Scotland and Northern Ireland differ.
DWI says to use a qualified plumber for a water treatment device and to check with the water company first. That applies to a softener on the rising main, just after the stopcock.
Salt softener and tablet salt
The BWT WS455 is the salt softener in this comparison. Wickes calls it a digital hi-flo softener with an advanced electronic control, and says it adjusts salt consumption to the current hardness. The features list also says it is built and tested to BS EN 14743. The page we read does not say whether that model wants tablets or blocks. Ask BWT, or read the instructions supplied with the unit, before you buy a drum of salt.
The tablet salt listing says the tablets comply with BS EN 973:2009 for water treatment and are suitable for all water softeners. "All" is Wickes's word. Your softener's manual still wins if it names a particular salt.
Salt-free: electrolytic and electronic
The Liff Limebeater is a 15mm compression body. Wickes calls it an electrolytic scale inhibitor, says it uses no chemicals, and says it gives whole-house protection from limescale. That protection claim is the listing's, not a result we measured. It has to be cut into the pipe. That is plumbing on the supply, not a clip-on, and it still has to meet the water fittings rules. The features do not mention salt, a drain or regeneration.
The Liff Wrappa 2 is the electronic conditioner. Wickes says it uses radio frequencies, that no pipe is cut, and that it works on pipe materials except lead. If the pipe might be lead, stop and read lead pipes. One features line claims a saving and gives no measured figure, so it is not repeated here. Fitting instructions Wickes hosts for this model describe a mains plug and a transformer in the unit. Plugging into an existing socket is ordinary. New wiring is for a qualified electrician. We do not give wiring instructions.
Products at Wickes
We haven't tested this. Figures are as the maker states them (checked 13 November 2026).
BWT WS455 digital hi-flo water softener. A salt softener with an electronic control. Wickes says it adjusts salt use to the hardness and lists BS EN 14743. Have a qualified plumber install it, keep an unsoftened kitchen tap, and check the salt type in the maker's instructions. The product page we read does not mention block salt.
BWT water softener salt tablets, 25kg. Tablet salt. Wickes says it complies with BS EN 973:2009 and is suitable for all water softeners. It is not block salt. Check the softener manual.
Liff Limebeater electrolytic scale inhibitor, 15mm. An in-line inhibitor with 15mm compression ends. Wickes says no chemicals are required and describes whole-house scale protection. It is not described as a softener. Installation on the supply is a plumber's job.
Liff Wrappa 2 electronic water conditioner. A wrap-around electronic conditioner. Wickes says no pipe is cut, and that it is not for lead pipe. It is not described as a softener. The hosted instructions describe a mains plug.
Do the electronic and electrolytic units soften the water?
Wickes does not call them softeners. DWI says magnetic devices do not soften water. These two are a different design, and the listings still do not say they remove hardness. Read them as scale conditioners, and keep the salt softener as the product that regenerates with salt.
Can I use block salt?
We did not find block salt sold as softener salt at Wickes on 13 November 2026. The WS455 page does not name block or tablet. The tablets above are the salt product we did find. De-icing rock salt is not a substitute. Follow the softener maker.
Can I fit a softener myself?
DWI says to use a qualified plumber and to check with the water company. A softener that regenerates can need notice under the water fittings regulations. The conditioners are not a way around that advice if they are cut into the rising main.