Soft
Lower scale risk. Follow the machine’s normal maintenance prompts and filter guidance.
UK water hardness checker
How hard is the water where you live?
Enter your UK postcode to estimate local water hardness, understand your scale risk and get a more useful coffee-machine care recommendation.
Postcode lookup
Check your local water hardness
This is an estimate based on local supply-zone data. Your property can vary slightly, so use the result as a maintenance input rather than an exact measurement of water from your tap.
Local supply data may vary within a postcode or property. Current lookup source: MyTapWater data via the Ventori postcode service.
Ventori care bands
Use hardness to understand scale risk — not to set one universal descale interval.
The bands below are practical care categories. Your actual maintenance timing should also consider the machine, filter use, usage level and manufacturer prompts.
Moderate
Moderate scale risk. Water hardness should be included when setting the machine or care schedule.
Hard
Higher scale risk. Filter condition and descale prompts matter more, particularly on frequently used machines.
Very hard
High scale risk. Use the exact machine hardness setting, filtration advice and maintenance schedule where available.
Why it matters
Hardness affects scale formation, but it is only one part of coffee-machine care.
Mineral scale
Harder water contains more dissolved calcium and magnesium compounds that can contribute to mineral deposits as water is heated.
Machine settings
Many machines ask for a hardness setting because it changes how the machine calculates maintenance prompts or filter use.
Filters do not all work the same way
Some machines use water filters that reduce scale formation, but filter replacement and descaling rules vary by manufacturer and model.
Machine guidance
Apply the hardness result to your machine.
FAQs
Water hardness questions
How do I know if my water is hard?
Enter your postcode above for an estimate based on the local water-supply zone. For an exact measurement at your property, use a suitable test strip or your water supplier’s current local data.
Can hard water damage a coffee machine?
Harder water can increase the rate at which mineral deposits form inside heated water systems. If those deposits are not managed according to the machine’s maintenance instructions, performance can deteriorate over time.
Do water filters remove the need to descale?
Not universally. Filter effectiveness and descaling rules differ by machine. Some systems can greatly extend the interval when filters are fitted and replaced correctly, while others still require periodic descaling.
How often should I descale my coffee machine?
Use the manufacturer’s guidance, machine prompts, water-hardness setting, filter status and usage. Water hardness affects the answer, but it should not be converted into one fixed interval for every machine.
What does mg/L CaCO₃ mean?
It expresses hardness as the equivalent concentration of calcium carbonate in milligrams per litre, allowing different dissolved hardness minerals to be compared on one scale.
Turn the result into a care plan
Use your water hardness with your exact machine.
The Ventori Care Schedule combines machine type and water hardness so maintenance reminders are more useful than a generic calendar.