We work from The Lightbox on Power Road, Chiswick, a few minutes from the Chiswick roundabout, so West London is the bit of the map we know best. It's also where we get asked most often whether a softener will actually fit. Plenty of homes round here have small kitchens and not much spare cupboard space, so most of this page is about that: who supplies your water, what kind of house you've got, and where the kit can go.
Who supplies water in West London?
Thames Water supplies most homes in West London. The main exception is the outer north-west, where Affinity Water supplies parts of Hillingdon. Your water bill will tell you which one you're with.
Either way, the water's hard. A lot of West London's supply is drawn from the Thames and stored in the big reservoirs out near Heathrow before it's treated, and that water has picked up calcium and magnesium from chalk and limestone further upstream. The exact figure shifts a bit from street to street and through the year, so for your own reading use the Thames Water postcode checker or the Affinity Water hardness lookup. If you just want the background on why London water is hard and what the units mean, that's all on our London hard water guide.
West London homes, and where a softener goes
The housing here is a real mix, and each type throws up its own question when we come to survey.
- Victorian and Edwardian terraces (Chiswick, Hammersmith, Fulham, Acton, Brentford). The kitchen's often in the back addition and the sink cupboard is narrow. The mains usually comes in at the front of the house, under the stairs or in a cellar, so the first job is finding a spot after the stopcock but before the pipe splits off around the house. A compact non-electric unit under the sink works in a lot of these. Where it won't, an under-stairs cupboard often does.
- Mansion blocks and converted flats (Kensington, Earls Court, Shepherd's Bush, West Kensington). In a flat, what matters is where your own supply enters and whether there's a drain nearby. In some conversions the incoming pipe runs through a neighbour's space first, which we'll check before quoting. If you're a leaseholder, it's worth reading your lease too, as some ask you to get permission before altering the plumbing.
- 1930s semis (much of Ealing, Hounslow, Isleworth, Hanwell and out towards Hillingdon). These are usually the easy ones. There's often a utility area, a garage or a bit more room under the sink, which gives us more choice of softener.
- Riverside new-builds (Brentford, Fulham Reach, Kew Bridge). Neat kitchens with integrated appliances and not a lot of spare space. We'll look at the utility cupboard or the space around the hot water cylinder, if there is one.
What the hard water is doing to your kit
Lots of West London terraces have had their old tanks and cylinders taken out and a combi boiler fitted in the kitchen or loft. Combis heat water as it passes through a small plate heat exchanger, and scale builds up in there over time. The usual sign is hot water that won't stay as hot as it used to, or that wobbles in temperature when someone turns on another tap. Our post on limescale and your boiler goes into what's happening.
Elsewhere it's the familiar stuff: shower heads that spit sideways, glass screens you can't get clear, and a white crust round the taps. Dishwashers and washing machines cope, but their heating elements scale up too. A whole-house softener stops new scale forming everywhere at once.
Your drinking tap
We always fit a separate kitchen tap that stays on unsoftened mains water, for drinking, cooking and making up baby formula. In a small terrace kitchen that usually means a second, smaller tap next to your main one, or a three-way tap if you'd rather keep the worktop clear. Softened water has more sodium in it, which is why we keep it out of the kettle. Here's the full explanation.
Getting to you
We're just off the A4 and the M4, so West London is a short drive for us. Parking's the bigger question. Most inner West London streets are controlled parking zones, so if you can get us a visitor permit or let us know where we can leave the van, the day goes much more smoothly.
Places we cover in West London
- Chiswick, Gunnersbury and Turnham Green
- Hammersmith, Ravenscourt Park and Brook Green
- Fulham and Parsons Green
- Kensington, Earls Court and Holland Park
- Notting Hill and North Kensington
- Shepherd's Bush and White City
- Acton and Ealing
- Hanwell, West Ealing and Southall
- Brentford, Isleworth and Hounslow
- Kew, Richmond and Twickenham
- Greenford, Northolt and Hayes
- Uxbridge, Ruislip and Hillingdon
Not on the list? If you're in West London, we almost certainly cover you. See all the areas we cover.
West London FAQs
Can you fit a water softener in a small Victorian terrace kitchen?
Usually, yes. Compact non-electric softeners are designed to sit in a standard kitchen base unit, and that's where most of our terrace installs end up. If the sink cupboard is too tight or full of pipework, the next best spots are under the stairs or in a cellar, close to where the mains comes in. We check all of this at the free survey before you commit to anything.
Who supplies the water in Chiswick and Hammersmith?
Thames Water supplies Chiswick, Hammersmith and most of West London. Affinity Water supplies parts of the outer north-west, including parts of Hillingdon. Check your water bill to be sure, then use your supplier's postcode checker for the official hardness figure.
Can I have a softener in a West London mansion flat?
Often you can. We need to find where your flat's own supply comes in, a spot for the softener after your stopcock, and a drain for when it regenerates. In some blocks the pipework is shared or awkward, so we'll tell you honestly at the survey if it isn't practical. Leaseholders should check whether their lease needs permission for plumbing changes.
Do you need a parking permit to visit?
It helps a lot. Much of inner West London is controlled parking, so a visitor permit, or a heads-up about where we can park, saves time on the day. If that's tricky, just tell us when you book and we'll plan around it.
Next steps
Have a read of how water softener installation works, or if you've already got a softener that needs some attention, see servicing and repairs. Bought a house that came with one? Our guide to buying a house with a softener covers what to check. When you're ready, ask for a free survey using the form below or call 020 3633 6064.