Water softeners in Mallorca
Savings, sodium, regulations and upkeep, in depth.
Water softeners · Can Picafort and Santa Margalida
Water softener in Can Picafort:
very hard water, on the coast and in the village.
In the municipality of Santa Margalida the mains water is very hard: 58 °fH in Can Picafort, 59 °fH in Son Serra de Marina and 76 °fH in the village, according to the latest SINAC bulletins. A water softener solves the limescale; what it is set to and which water you drink is the other half of the job. We tell you about both.
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- 58 °fH according to SINAC
- Water heater and heat pump protected
- RD 3/2023 · CTE HS 4
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Kinetico Premier Plus · Image: Kinetico
The official figure
How hard is the water in Can Picafort and Santa Margalida?
Three networks, all three from wells according to SINAC, and none falls below 58 °fH. The one for Santa Margalida village is the hardest of the three; those on the coast, Can Picafort and Son Serra de Marina, have somewhat less limescale:
| Supply network Places it serves | °fH | °dH | Hardness (mg/L CaCO₃) | Calcium (mg/L) | Magnesium (mg/L) | Bulletin date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can Picafort | 58 | 33 | 584 | 115 | 72 | 16 April 2026 |
| Son Serra de Marina | 59 | 33 | 587 | 113 | 74 | 16 April 2026 |
| Santa Margalida | 76 | 43 | 765 | 199 | 65 | 12 February 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.
In Can Picafort, the bulletin of 16 April 2026 gives 584 mg/L CaCO₃, with 115 mg/L of calcium and 72 of magnesium; in Son Serra de Marina, 587 mg/L on 16 April 2026; and in Santa Margalida village, 765 mg/L on 12 February 2026. All three are above 50 °fH: for an installation, comfortable means under 15.
Where the saving is
What 58 °fH water does in a house on the coast
At 58 °fH, Can Picafort's water is almost double the 30 °fH (3 mmol/L) that Daikin allows untreated in the manual of its EKHHP hot-water heat pump. Every 100 m³ brings about 58 kg of limescale (as calcium carbonate), which ends up in the water heater, the heat-pump cylinder and the washing machine; and in a summer house it sits dry inside the taps all winter long.
The Battelle test for the water-treatment industry gives an idea of the cost: on water of about 44 °fH, a good deal less hard than this, a gas water heater went from 80 % to 72 % efficiency in two years. If you have or are going to fit a heat pump, here the water is looked at before the machine.
Setting and drinking water
What a softener does and what it doesn't
A softener does one thing: it swaps limescale for sodium, about 46 mg/L for every 10 °fH it removes. It does what it is meant to do (keep the water heater, the shower and the washing machine from filling with limescale) and it isn't pushed to zero: it is set without going below the 55 mg/L of hardness that RD 3/2023 requires. With water that starts at 58 °fH in Can Picafort and 76 in the village, that setting is made by measuring at the outlet, not from memory.
For drinking and cooking, the piece is a different one: an unsoftened kitchen tap or reverse osmosis under the sink. The one we recommend is the Kinetico RO Premier; the unit is chosen once the water at your house has been tested.
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 Can Picafort and Santa Margalida
Summer houses, hotels and fincas in Santa Margalida
Son Serra de Marina and a good part of Can Picafort are seasonal houses and apartments: months shut and then, all at once, a full house. A softener that has stood idle all winter needs starting up before the water is used, as the manufacturer's manual sets out; we include it in JSL Villa Care. In Can Picafort's hotels, limescale is part of the Legionella plan: RD 487/2022 asks for a softener or a scale inhibitor to be assessed on the incoming water.
Inland, between Santa Margalida and Muro, many fincas run on a well. There you don't start with the softener but with the lab analysis, because limescale is only one of the things the water may carry. It is on well and cistern water.
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 Santa Margalida: Alcúdia · Inca
Also in Santa Margalida: solar panels · heat pumps · air conditioning · sewage treatment plants
Common questions
FAQ about water softeners in Can Picafort and Santa Margalida
How hard is the water in Can Picafort?
According to the latest bulletin reported to SINAC (Spanish Ministry of Health), dated 16 April 2026: 584 mg/L CaCO₃, which is 58 °fH or 33 °dH. Son Serra de Marina gave 59 °fH on 16 April 2026 and Santa Margalida village 76 °fH on 12 February 2026. All three networks are supplied from wells and all three are above 50 °fH.
Can you drink softened water in Can Picafort?
For drinking and cooking, better a separate tap. A softener removes limescale and in exchange adds sodium, about 46 mg/L for every 10 °fH it removes; that is why it is set without going down to zero, and RD 3/2023 requires softened water to keep at least 55 mg/L of hardness. In Can Picafort houses we leave the kitchen tap unsoftened or fit reverse osmosis; the one we recommend is the Kinetico RO Premier.
Which unit do I need in a house in Son Serra de Marina?
The usual answer is two pieces. A softener at the inlet, for the 59 °fH of limescale that damages the water heater, taps and appliances, set without going below 55 mg/L of hardness (RD 3/2023). And, for drinking and cooking, an unsoftened kitchen tap or reverse osmosis. First we test the water at your tap: the figure changes with the time of year, and the Son Serra bulletin of 16 April 2026 is only the starting point.
Is a water softener needed in Santa Margalida village?
It is where there is most limescale in the municipality: 76 °fH (765 mg/L CaCO₃) in the bulletin of 12 February 2026, according to SINAC, against 58 in Can Picafort. In a village house with a water heater or boiler, a softener at the inlet lengthens the life of elements and taps; for drinking, a separate unsoftened tap or reverse osmosis.
How often is a water softener checked in a Can Picafort summer house?
At whichever interval is stricter, the regulations or the manufacturer's manual for your unit, and also every time the house is reopened after months shut. At that start-up the salt is checked, which must be proper softener salt, along with the outlet hardness. With 58 °fH on the network, a unit without salt gives no warning: it simply lets the limescale through.
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 Can Picafort home?
Send us photos of the water inlet and we'll tell you which unit suits it. Itemised quote.