Water softeners in Mallorca
Savings, sodium, regulations and upkeep, in depth.
Water softeners · Palma
Water softener in Palma:
your network's limescale, with the official figure.
Palma's water reaches your home hard: the latest bulletins EMAYA has reported to SINAC give between 34 and 41 °fH depending on the network. In a flat you notice it in the water heater, the shower screen and the washing machine; in a house with a heat pump, in the hot-water cylinder. We give you the official figure for your network, what it means and how a water softener is fitted in Palma with the regulations in hand.
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- 38 °fH according to SINAC
- Water heater and heat pump protected
- RD 3/2023 · CTE HS 4
- EN · ES · DE
Kinetico Premier Compact · Image: Kinetico
The official figure
How hard is Palma's water?
Palma doesn't drink from a single source. According to SINAC, EMAYA blends water from reservoirs, springs, galleries, wells and desalinated seawater, and distributes it through several networks. That is why hardness is not the same in Son Ferriol as in Gènova, nor in March as in September: EMAYA itself describes its water as «hard and semi-hard, depending on the area and the time of year». These are the 8 Palma networks with a recent bulletin:
| Supply network Places it serves | °fH | °dH | Hardness (mg/L CaCO₃) | Calcium (mg/L) | Magnesium (mg/L) | Bulletin date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arteria de Levante · Son Tugores Palma, Can Pastilla, Las Maravillas, es Coll d'en Rabassa, Son Ferriol, Sant Jordi, s'Aranjassa, es Secar de la Real, Son Castelló | 35 | 20 | 354 | 102 | 24 | 27 April 2026 |
| Arteria de Poniente · Son Anglada Palma, Sant Agustí, sa Vileta-Son Rapinya, Son Roca-Son Ximelis, Gènova, Establiments, es Secar de la Real | 38 | 21 | 380 | 111 | 25 | 28 April 2026 |
| Gènova | 40 | 22 | 398 | 118 | 25 | 20 April 2026 |
| Son Gual Palma | 34 | 19 | 344 | 100 | 23 | 21 April 2026 |
| Parc Bit Palma | 41 | 23 | 408 | 122 | 25 | 9 April 2026 |
| Son Vida · Superior 325 Son Vida | 41 | 23 | 409 | 121 | 26 | 13 April 2026 |
| Son Vida · Antenas 425 Son Vida | 38 | 22 | 385 | 113 | 25 | 29 April 2026 |
| Son Vida · Bóvedas 225 Son Vida | 38 | 21 | 383 | 109 | 27 | 5 March 2026 |
Source: SINAC, Spanish Ministry of Health (sinac.sanidad.gob.es), latest bulletin for each network, checked on 1 October 2026; only networks with a 2025 or 2026 bulletin. Hardness calculated from the calcium and magnesium in the bulletin (CaCO₃ = 2.497 × Ca + 4.118 × Mg); 1 °fH = 10 mg/L CaCO₃, 1 °dH ≈ 17.8 mg/L. The rest of the island is in the Mallorca water table.
The Levante main (Son Tugores) gave 354 mg/L CaCO₃ (35 °fH) in the bulletin of 27 April 2026, and the Poniente main (Son Anglada) 380 mg/L (38 °fH) on 28 April 2026. Across all of them, from Son Gual to Son Vida or Parc Bit, Palma's 8 networks sit between 34 and 41 °fH: for an installation, comfortable means under 15 °fH.
Where the saving is
What that limescale does in a Palma flat
At 38 °fH, every 100 m³ of water on your meter carries about 38 kg of limescale dissolved in it (expressed as calcium carbonate). Not all of it stays in the house, but the part that comes out of solution does so where water is heated: on the element of the electric water heater, in the boiler's heat exchanger and in the washing machine. In Palma, where so many flats rely on a water heater or a wall-hung boiler, it is a classic: elements coated in scale and heaters that take longer and longer.
Two references with a source. In the manual of its EKHHP hot-water heat pump, Daikin asks for the water not to exceed 3 mmol/L (30 °fH) and, if it does, to be treated: the 8 Palma networks are above that. And in a Battelle test for the water-treatment industry, a gas water heater went from 80 % to 72 % efficiency in two years on water of about 44 °fH. If your home has a heat pump or you are going to fit one, the water is looked at first.
Setting and drinking water
What it is set to: why in Palma it isn't taken down to zero
RD 3/2023 requires softened water to keep at least 55 mg/L of hardness (5.5 °fH), and there is another reason not to overdo it: a softener swaps limescale for sodium, about 46 mg/L for every 10 °fH it removes. The more limescale comes out, the more sodium goes in. That is why it isn't taken down to zero: we adjust the blend, measure it at the outlet and leave it noted down. In Palma the starting point changes with the network and the time of year (from 34 to 41 °fH in the latest bulletins), so the setting is made with the hardness measured at your home, not the one in the table.
For drinking and cooking, the usual thing in Palma is to leave the kitchen tap unsoftened or fit reverse osmosis under the sink; the one we recommend is the Kinetico RO Premier. Mains water that meets RD 3/2023 can be drunk as it is: osmosis is a matter of taste and convenience.
Sizing and installation
How it is sized and how it is fitted
The size doesn't come from a table: it comes from the hardness measured at your meter, the water the household uses and the flow that showers and taps call for at the same time. The installation is governed by the CTE DB HS 4 building code (non-return valve, bypass, test point and meter): the detail is on water softeners in Mallorca. We fit every brand; the one we recommend is Kinetico (Premier Plus and Premier Compact), which according to the manufacturer works without electricity and regenerates according to the water used.
The case of Palma
Flats, apartment blocks and houses with a garden
In a flat the unit goes after the home's stopcock, and two things are needed that are not always there: a drain nearby and room to load the salt. That is why we ask for photos of the water inlet before proposing anything. In a block of flats the water can also be treated where it enters the building, but that is for the owners' association to decide. And in the houses of Son Vida, Gènova or Son Gual, with garden and pool, irrigation and pool filling are left off the softener: they don't need it and would use up salt for nothing.
If yours is a hotel or holiday apartments on Playa de Palma or in the centre, limescale reads differently: the Legionella regulation RD 487/2022 asks for a softener or a scale inhibitor to be considered on the incoming water, and its preamble lists scale deposits among the factors that favour the bacteria. It is on Legionella in Mallorca. And if you spend months away, the unit comes under JSL Villa Care: salt, outlet hardness and whatever the manual asks before the water is used again.
How we work
Your water softener in four steps
1
Photos and details
Photos of the water inlet, of where the unit would go, and how many people live in the house.
2
We test
Your water's hardness, the pressure and the drain. That decides the size.
3
Installed to code
Non-return valve, bypass, meter and blend setting, measured at the outlet.
4
Follow-up
Salt, sanitising and servicing at the interval your unit's manufacturer requires.
Water softeners near Palma: Llucmajor · Marratxí
Also in Palma: solar panels · heat pumps · air conditioning · sewage treatment plants · EV charger installation
Common questions
FAQ about water softeners in Palma
How hard is the water in Palma?
According to the latest bulletins EMAYA has reported to SINAC (Spanish Ministry of Health), checked on 1 October 2026, Palma's networks are between 344 and 409 mg/L CaCO₃, that is, from 34 to 41 °fH (19-23 °dH). The Levante main, which supplies Can Pastilla, es Coll d'en Rabassa and Son Ferriol, gave 35 °fH on 27 April 2026; the Poniente main, 38 °fH on 28 April 2026. It changes with the time of year, because EMAYA blends reservoirs, wells and desalinated water.
Do you need a water softener in a Palma flat?
It isn't compulsory: it is a decision about savings and breakdowns. At 34-41 °fH, Palma's water is above the 30 °fH (3 mmol/L) from which Daikin, for example, asks for the water feeding its EKHHP hot-water heat pump to be treated. In a flat you notice it on the water heater element, in the boiler and in the washing machine. If you have room and a drain near the water inlet, it can be fitted; we'll tell you from a few photos.
Can you drink softened water in Palma?
Better to keep one tap unsoftened. A softener swaps limescale for sodium: it adds about 46 mg/L for every 10 °fH it removes, which is also why it is never set to zero (RD 3/2023 requires softened water to keep at least 55 mg/L of hardness). For drinking and cooking, the usual thing in Palma flats is to leave the kitchen tap off the unit or fit reverse osmosis under the sink; the one we recommend is the Kinetico RO Premier.
Where is a water softener installed in Palma and what do the regulations require?
After the home's main stopcock, and there the CTE DB HS 4 building code applies, as article 46 of RD 3/2023 states: a non-return valve before the unit, a bypass, a point for checking the treated water and a meter. In Palma flats, what decides it is the space: you need a drain for regeneration and room for the salt. The unit comes with its own product standard, EN 14743.
How often is a water softener serviced with Palma's water?
At whichever interval is stricter, the regulations or the manufacturer's manual for your unit; there is no single number. What doesn't change: never let it run out of salt, use proper softener salt and check the outlet hardness, which must not fall below 55 mg/L (RD 3/2023). At 38 °fH, a unit in Palma regenerates a good deal more often than on a soft network like Andratx.
You may also like
More on your home's water
The softener is one piece; here is the rest.
Water treatment
The official hardness of each network on the island.
Reverse osmosis
Drinking water without limescale or salt.
Well and cistern water
First, the lab analysis.
Legionella
Hotels, agroturismos and holiday apartments.
Shall we look at the water in your Palma home?
Send us photos of the water inlet and we'll tell you which unit suits it. Itemised quote.