The tricky thing: A water softener has these advantages:

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The good news: Tap water in Switzerland is of good quality and easily drinkable as “Hahnenburger”. The bad news: In many places the water is too hard for appliances or hot water boilers, so it contains a lot of calcium and magnesium dissolved in the rock. The larger the amount, the more calcareous the water. Therefore, the water quality is not worse, but rather. Hard water tastes even better than soft water.

On the other hand, the subject always fluctuates when it comes to indoor installations. Because as soon as the water heats up or evaporates, lime crystallizes and precipitates. This leads to limescale deposits in the kettle, limescale stains on taps, higher energy consumption or lower water pressure due to calcified heating elements. Dry skin and hair or itchy clothes can also be a result.

Hard water also makes detergents less efficient to use. Although people wash their clothes or dishes with plenty of water, their consumption of detergent, rinse aid, shower gel or shampoo is significantly higher.

Hard water in large areas of German-speaking Switzerland

This is why household installations need water that contains, if possible, very little calcium and magnesium. This is not the case in Mittelland and in the north-east of Switzerland, where the water has a high to very high hardness. Therefore, it makes sense to pay for lime in much of the country and consider installing a water softener.

Softening with or without salt

There are two basic systems for softening: On the one hand, the most commonly used salt ion exchange process, or on the other hand, a salt-free water softener. During ion exchange, the calcium and magnesium components in the water are replaced by sodium through a chemical equilibrium reaction. With the scale converter, the calcium remains completely in the drinking water, but the scale loses its sticky, crystalline properties due to an anti-scale device.

Conclusion: Water softening is not necessary for drinking water quality. On the other hand, it helps against calcification of household installations and leads to lower energy consumption. Even those who are bothered by the annoying limescale stains in the kitchen and bathroom, and who like their clothes to be shiny and shiny and nice and fluffy, are advised to take care of the water softening process.

Source : Blick