[dlcarrier]

Are whole-house water softeners not common in Europe? I live in a region in the US that doesn't have hard water, but most of the rest of the country does, so I'm only distantly familiar with the infrastructure, but the houses I've seen with softeners usually service the entire house at the point of entry. From what I've seen in Europe, companies advertise small kitchen water softeners or appliances with built-in softeners.

Do you guys have to refill the consumables for a bunch of small softeners? Do you bathe in or wash your hands with hard water?

[emrox]

In most of europe tap water has very good quality and you can just drink and use it without any filtering.

edit: meaning it's a personal choice to soften / filter you water, but most people are fine with just tap water

[dlcarrier]

Water hardness isn't affected by filters. It's the presence of metal ions and is removed by converting them to salts. Hard water can taste good, and is perfectly healthy to drink, but it prevents soap from lathering and in areas with lots of moving water, it leaves mineral deposits, like stalactites and stalagmites in a cave. Usually it's treated to make cleaning easier and to prevent deposits from building up.

If you have to add salt to your dishwasher, it is to treat hard water, and in areas where it is needed, if you don't add salt the dishes will build up a cloudy mineral layer that is especially visible on glass and flatware as a matte finish when dry.

[tacomagick]

Seconded, although some still go for under-the-counter 6 stage water filtration systems with a small tank for drinking water. There are also 4 stage filters for the water as soon as it enters the house (very basic ones that do not restrict the waterflow as much compared to the drinking water filters) and 2 stage under sink solutions you can use on a per-sink base. I have seen people use all kinds but rarely.