I just returned to CH after a new boiler etc. was installed and the water softener switched off. The upstairs toilet was flithy so stained up with calc. I had to ckean it. I drianed it twice and use calc remover. The ubend was one inch thick with calc. I will have to find a more powerful decalcer. But i definitely want a new water softener, I cant live like this. The downstairs did not look stained but is not flushing with gusto, so I guess it has the same problem. Does anyone know how much a water softener is?
The new boiler etc. was installed in November, so this only 8 months build up.

It does depend on how big your place is.

A good one in Germany is about 1500 Euro upwards so that's about 5000 CHF here plus fitting which could be anything.

A lot less than a new boiler though!

BWT serviced ours and were quite happy for me to cancel a yearly service contract and come on an ad-hoc basis. Ask them for a quote for a new one.

FTFY.

Tom

Pumice stones are very good for cleaning off calc in toilets without scratching the porcelain.

You can buy specially shaped ones or fitted on a handle; looks a bit like a lollipop!

We paid around 2400.- for our Swisskalk softener. Works like a charm

Thanks all, i have forgotten wherr the button is to give thanks. We already have the plumbing fixtures for a qater softener, so maybe i should go over the border to Germany and buy one as they are cheaper there?

You need to search for Wasserenthärter

If you buy one in Germany you need to be sure it is approved for use in Switzerland; they have some funny rules here!

Amazon.de have some big reductions on water softener prices but I do not know if they are Swiss approved?

Great! I would really appreciate it if you could please PM me the info!

Same here. We have a reasonably large house and because of the pipe configuration, even the garden water gets softened, but the water softener works brilliantly -- absolutely no signs of chalk anywhere. Salt (occasionally) is the only ongoing expense. I haven't seen any need for a service in three years, so far, touch wood.

Have you discovered the new Google machine yet? It's awesome! You just ask some random person on the internet to type any question you may have into this machine, and it gives you the answer!

Swisskalk. Apparently they're currently offering a discount based on the number of goals scored each day in the World Cup...

Have you discovered the new morning happy personality machine yet? It’s free by the way.

OK, I'll Google, i just wondered how much extra to expect to pay for hooking it up to existing plumbing.
Swisskalk here i come!

Leave him be, blood Moon's a coming. Not pretty.. fangs, fur, the lot.

Be aware you will need approx CHF 5 to 8 worth of salt per month depending on whether salt briquettes or lose salt is required and how much water you use.

Cheaper softeners recycle on a timed basis, better ones on the water used, so you don‘t need to worry about it working while you are away.

We have a Swisskalk and installation was included in the price. They want to service it each year - this is totally unnecessary and we will call them only when it breaks down. Swisskalk is actually an American made product with their stickers on it...

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There are much better search engines than foogle. For example duckduckgo.com. They don’t track you like foogle does. ddg allows you to use foogle anonymously, if you prefer their results.

Our price included installation. It's a new build, so the necessary plumbing bits were already in place.


Oh and just to reiterate, avoid so-called "magnetic" softeners like the plague, it's a totally unproven and dubious technology.

Yeah, you only make that mistake once!

Looking for a water softener on Google, I also came accross SWISSKALK.CH as first hit

I see many of you had swisskalk water softeners installed and the price is very decent compared to what my verwaltung is asking. Do you guys recommend their product and service?

Yes. Swisskalk works like a charm, great results, and its relatively (for Switzerland) well priced.

Forget about service, there's no need for it at all. They will try to sign you up for an annual service package; just say thanks, but no thanks.

Funny name, now that I think about it. I get the Swiss part -- it's a compromise between the three languages -- but "keinkalk", surely?

Two languages (unless you are including Rumantsch), as we don't have hard water in Ticino other than in Stabio.

Tom