I live in a hard water area. The tap water is fine for drinking... but you cannot create any lather for washing etc. Also the calcium knackers your washing machine, dishwasher, central heating system etc.
I fitted a water softener to soften the water for those things to do with washing/central heating, leaving unsoftened water available for drinking and outside taps. I do use a Brita water filter for the water that goes into the kettle.
Earlier in the thread it was said that salt softens the water... not as far as I know... the saline solution is used to clean the softener during its recharge cycle not to actually soften the water itself.
