Water Imp is made by Water Technologies Ltd., and its purpose is to neutralise the lime deposits in your drinking water supply. It does so by passing a magnetic current through the drinking supply entering your house and this causes a chemical change to the lime in the water. It does not destroy the lime in the water but alters its makeup so that it does not stick to your kettle element, water heating elements, washing machines, dishwashers, hot water piping and central heating system. Lime is a major problem in water systems, in many areas, and can cause huge problems and costs for a household and it is essential from a cost point of view to deal with the problem. They do not get rid of the lime (which is actually very good for you) in the water but rather breaks it down that it falls to the bottom of your kettle without sticking to the element. We at Energybuild are familiar with and have used the water softening systems using salt. These are upwards of 600 Euro to install and then you’ve got to recharge them regularly with bags of coarse salt which is an added cost and hassle. On top of this it is not healthy to drink this treated water because of the salt content, especially with those people who are prone to heart conditions. The appeal of the magnetic system was irrisistable to us at Energybuild and we decided to give it a try. We used it in an area that had an extremely high content of lime in the water which was really going to test the product. It must be stressed that there are various versions of this technology available for purchase and some are a lot better than others. We researched this thoroughly and feedback told us that Water Improvements Ltd. Were the ones to go with. They make three versions of their product, one for a normal household called the imp @ £87 sterling, one for an eight bedroomed situation called the super imp @ £160 and finally an industrial unit for use in hotels etc., @ £460. Because of our very heavy lime content we choose the super imp @ £160 and installed it ourselves as per the instructions. This was so simple that anybody could do it. This was a new house and so had brand new piping systems. After three months of use we admit to being very pleasantly surprised. We have seen the damage lime depositing can do to an electric kettle after just one week of use. With the super imp this did not happen. The lime did break up and fall to the bottom of the kettle in hard gritty bits without damage to the element. In our case there was also iron in the water which also seemed to be fused to the lime deposits at the end of the kettle. We did notice some build up in powder form on the element over time but nothing that a rub of a cloth did not quickly and easily wash off. The kettle element is still as good as new and we are delighted to have purchased this little product. The added bonuses were the health benefits and the price saving against the salt system together with the fact that it is also totally environmentally friendly and comes with a minimum operating cost. We recommend this product highly but would add that because of the low cost involved do not be afraid to purchase the size above the one you think you’ll need. The extra cost is minimal and it’s always better to be on the safer side. A great purchase.