We live in a very high kalk area and although the water is very nice to drink it furs up our kettle in days if we do not filter it. Not to mention the horrible water stains that are in the shower, sinks etc, I think I keep Durgol in business trying to get rid of them. How does everyone else deal with kalk? Does anyone use one of the devices you can attach to the water pipes coming into the house such as can be seen on this link? If so do they make a difference?

i simply use vinegar to clean the kalk stains as well as the kettle....

I'd rather not have to clean them at all .

Hi,

You can buy filters which you can attach right onto your taps to help reduce the "Kalk"... I know you can buy them in the UK and I was sure you could get them here... if I find them I'll post again! Sorry!!

Hi Lou, sure do.

I went about looking at what was in the market and had one installed. Cost was around the 2K. The water we now have is around 7 (French hardness scale) against 56 before or without the filter. It uses regeneration salt at the rate of about 1 sack every 2 months. Cost of the sack of salt is around the SFr. 15.

There are other alternatives to add an electrical circuit that modifies the property of the water to prevent chalk from building up, such as you have displayed. Must say seems remarkably cheap. Apparently these work as well but not quite as well.

You are still left needing to use duragold although the consumption reduces massively ie one bottle does us for 6 months at a minimum ie I don't notice how much we use...

If it is just the kettle that is worrying you, then look for a Brita kettle. (Like a Brita water filter but integrated into a Kettle). It works. So long as you change the filter about once every 1½ - 2 months you get virtually no calk in the kettle. They are a bit hard to find here but I have seen one in "Manor". I bought mine in Belgium where the water is double as hard as it is here. Cost about €60 plus the cost of the filters but a lot cheaper than the Ion exchange alternatives.

The in-laws have always used a Brita pitcher when it comes to water in the coffee machine and for boiling water when making tee. In terms of the laundry, they use anti-chalking tablets with every load.

The shower will involve a bit of extra work, which I've gotten used to. They typically do the following (and I've since adapt as my wife was raised this way): dry down the shower with a small towel after the last person has showered in the morning. This will take the hard water off of the shower's surfaces before it has evaporated and left behind the film of chalk. It takes a minute -- I hated doing this at first -- but you get used to it and it really does make a difference.

When in Rome, do as the Romans (unless you own your own house -- if I did, I would buy a filter like Richard).

We are thinking about installing some sort of filter/device to deal with it. According to our neighbour our shared sewage pipes are about one third less in diameter than when installed due to kalk build up. We have also wondered what sort of build up is happening in the under-floor heating system. We already use a Britta filter & anti kalk tablets in the washing machine.

Richard: do you have a link to the system you use so I can read more about it?