A common issue across 34 areas of the UK is rising household bills, experts have warned. Water hardness is something that many people don't think about daily, but it could be having a serious impact on your annual energy bills.

Experts have said you could be paying an extra £500 in areas with hard or very hard water. Hard water contains dissolved materials such as calcium and magnesium, which actually have health benefits.

Samantha Mant, CEO of Halcyan Water Conditioners, previously revealed that a buildup of lime scale could add as much as £500 to annual energy bills, an unwelcome extra expense that households would rather avoid amid the cost-of-living crisis. The appliances, meaning they are more expensive to run.

Property maintenance company Aspect lists the areas of the UK with the hardest water. Water hardness is measured in mg/l CaCO3 (calcium carbonate). Up to 100 is considered soft.

Over 250 is considered 'very hard', which is not uncommon across the UK. According to Aspect's data, Kent is the area of England with the hardest water.

A map created by the Daily Express based on this data shows how hard water is more common in the South East of England. Only one English county, Cumbria, has soft water. The rest are all moderate, hard or very hard.

The map below shows the areas of the UK where energy bills could be as much as £500 due to the hardness of the water.

The areas of the UK with 'very hard' water are:

• Kent (343)


• Cambridgeshire (341)


• Gloucestershire (341)


• Northamptonshire (320)


• West Sussex (319)


• Essex (310)


• Bedfordshire (300)


• Warwickshire (300)


• Buckinghamshire (286)


• Norfolk (286)


• Hertfordshire (280)


• Lincolnshire (280)


• Nottinghamshire (280)


• Oxfordshire (280)


• Derbyshire (278)


• Greater London (274)


• Northumberland (274)


• Tyne & Wear (274)


• Dorset (272)


• Shropshire (270)


• East Sussex (259)


• Rutland (259)

The areas of the UK with 'hard' water are:

• Somerset (250)


• Wiltshire (250)


• Hampshire (249)


• County Durham (240)


• Isle of Wight (240)


• South Gloucestershire (228)


• Suffolk (220)


• East Riding of Yorkshire (219)


• Leicestershire (214)


• Surrey (214)


• Worcestershire (214)


• South Yorkshire (210)

James Hays, Technical Manager of Plumbing, Heating and AC at Aspect, said: "The good news is that there are measures that you can take to help protect your plumbing fixtures from these issues, ensuring they remain both functional and visually appealing.

"If you live in an area with hard or very hard water, purchasing a water softener may solve these problems for you, by replacing the hardness in the water with sodium ions.

"It is essential that you make sure that it is installed by a qualified plumber, to make sure that it is done correctly and safely."