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No, a water descaler won't descale pipes. The charged water running through the pipes may very slowly dissolve mineral deposits and hold them inside the water, but it's a very gradual process. If your pipes do need descaling, it's much better to get a local plumber to descale your pipes.

The primary difference between a water softener and a water filter lies in what they remove from the water. A water softener is designed to remove hard minerals like calcium and magnesium. In contrast, a water filter has a broader effect, removing various contaminants above a certain size, which can include bacteria and other impurities.

To decide which you need, consider your goal. If you want to eliminate hard minerals, choose a softener. If you want to remove a wide range of contaminants, a filter is the better option. Filters are also generally less expensive to install. Depending on your water supply, you may need to install both for comprehensive treatment.

It’s not a good idea to oversize your water softener. Doing so will mean the tank doesn’t get full, which can lead to channeling. This leads to a large portion of the resin beads not being utilized and the beads at the bottom of the tank being overused. Over time, this will reduce the efficiency of your system, not to mention that the upfront cost of an oversized softener is unnecessarily high. If you have a timed regeneration cycle rather than a demand-based one, you’ll also spend far more on replacing salt than you need to.

Hard water doesn’t hurt, but it might feel more abrasive, especially if you have sensitive skin. It’s also about how your skin feels after bathing. You might feel as though you have a sticky film over your body because you do—it’s all that soapy residue left behind because the hard water can’t rinse it off completely.