Scalewatcher Small Wonder Electronic Water Descaler - Hard Water Treatment System for Home & Kitchen - Prevent Limescale in Pipes, Appliances & Fixtures | Perfect for Dishwashers, Washing Machines & Coffee Makers

I realized I have a problem with hard water when I saw my dishwasher's metal pipe slowly grow thick (~2 mm) dark material. In addition, all nickel parts in the bathroom were covered with a dirty white spots, which could not be removed.I checked the town's water report and, sure enough, Calcium (CaCO3) was at 319 mg/l! They call it "aesthetic quality of water", but I could only imagine what was happening to my hot water heating system and the boiler!Installing a chemical salt-based softener was very unappealing, because of the price, maintenance and environment impact. My friend has one installed and I didn't like the soapy feel of the treated water.After hearing commercials for no-salt Easy Water, I got interested. I also realized that there must be cheaper alternatives utilizing the same exact technology without expensive radio ads.I was very skeptical, because of varying reviews whether this technology can work, even theoretically. I checked with a former physicist and a former chemist and both said that theoretically it can work. They are even aware of early experiments for industrial use, although without a lot of success.My understanding is that this particular device creates an electromagnetic field around the water pipe. What's different from the early experiments is that it quickly changes the frequency. As a result, active Calcium ions become inactive sediment, don't attach themselves to the pipes in your house and simply wash away. So, the physical content of the water does not change (i.e. the hardness will remain the same), but the chemical properties of the water are affected, and that's the whole point.Still skeptical, I decided to take a chance on Small Wonder and see what happens. My first impression: the $180 device looks like a cheap little made-in-China $10 box you could get from Radio Shack. It has a power supply and two holes for the copper wire. The installation is as unglamorous as the device itself: you wrap the wire around your water pipe in two layers and plug it into the box.It took ~2 months of doubt, but now I am convinced it works. The first thing I noticed is that half of the nickel plug in the sink lost the dirty-white layer and the other half got visibly thinner. I was thinking maybe I am experiencing a placebo effect. However, after several uses of the dishwasher, the thick layer on the pipe started to fall off in big (1-2 inches) chunks.Depending on your situation (water hardness, how much water you consume, size of the house, pipe diameter, pipe type), you may need a stronger device (or two devices). Install on non-metal pipes, if you have a choice, but it worked for me on copper pipes.There are even cheaper alternatives with slightly different technology (such as Clearwave), but I have not tried them and don't know if they work better or worse.