ᐅ Watercat Cube – Recommendation / Experiences with Water Softening Systems?

In Germany, there is no law requiring that only DVGW-certified water softening systems be installed. The decision is entirely up to the consumer.
The DVGW regulations are not a government authority!!!
The DVGW (Deutsche Vereinigung des Gas- und Wasserfaches e.V.) inspects water softening and gas systems on behalf of the manufacturer for a testing fee. The board includes members from Grünbeck, BWT, and Judo... Hello lobbying!

So let’s look at this again:
DVGW-certified water softening systems must have a backflow preventer, protection against microbiological contamination, and control with forced regeneration.

In all domestic water installations, according to DIN 1988 and DIN EN 1717, a free-flow valve with a backflow preventer must be installed.

This is TODAY a standard in every home, commonly known as a dirt filter.

Therefore, a DVGW-certified water softening system is NOT necessary in any way.

The installation of a non-DVGW-certified water softening system fully complies with regulations thanks to pipe and system separators according to DIN EN 1717.

And our conclusion, as has often been said here:
Everyone can decide as they see fit.

P.S.: Only experts can conduct inspections... true! Wrong word. In Bavaria, they call this “Dipferlscheißerei.”

Bautraum2015 schrieb:
The board includes Grünbeck, bwt, and Judo... Hello lobby!

The DVGW is simply an industry association; it’s completely normal that its board is made up of members from the association. Who else would it be? I don’t see how that counts as lobbying. There is no influence being exerted on political decisions here, after all.

Bautraum2015 schrieb:
In Germany, there is no law that requires only DVGW-certified water softening systems to be installed.

That applies to the current version of the AVBWasserV (General Administrative Regulation on the Quality of Water). However, before the European harmonization of the regulation, a DIN-DVGW certificate was explicitly required. I don’t have the reference on hand right now, but I’m not sure the explicit requirement for a DIN-DVGW certificate dates back less than 7 years.

Hello everyone, and first of all, many thanks to the forum! By reading through various posts, you can already learn a lot here. I also have a question regarding water softening systems, but I don’t want to start a new thread just yet (I didn’t find anything in the search, probably because of lacking the right technical terms).

Question: Does it make sense to connect the water softener only to selected pipes? Specifically, we want to produce hot water with a groundwater heat pump, so the temperature should be around 23°C (73°F). To protect the unit, I would install a water softener upstream. The same goes for the dishwasher and washing machine. I would leave the remaining cold water pipes and toilets untreated. What do the experts think about this idea? That way, you would always have the option to draw “untreated” water, for example, for tea…

Thanks in advance!

Carsten

The purchase of a water softener system, based on my experience, needs to be considered with some nuance. In February of this year, I ordered a CM 32 (ion exchange principle) directly from Aqmos online for my single-family house and arranged for installation through the company Pillak from Lappersdorf Opf., recommended by Aqmos, at a fixed price of 399 EUR. Shortly afterwards, we noticed that the treated water was no longer very suitable for watering certain plants. About four weeks after installation, we experienced the first flooding in the basement due to wastewater from the regeneration process. This issue occurred increasingly often in the following months, most recently at intervals of five days. As a result, the floor covering, which was not tile-based, was ruined and had to be discarded, and the connection fittings of the softener system were corroded by concentrated salt solution, as were the metal legs of a cabinet.

When I called Pillak afterwards, the contractor responded dismissively: "The system is not to blame." A first follow-up appointment was canceled at short notice by Mr. Pillak due to a supposed hospital stay. For a second appointment, arranged a few days later for 6 p.m., I received a call around 12:30 p.m. at my workplace (approximately 20 km (12 miles) from home) on the same day informing me that Mr. Pillak could be at the site in half an hour. Since then, I have not heard from him.

I sent an email to Aqmos explaining the situation and my suspicion that the company Pillak had severely underestimated the drainage capacity of the supply line to the main soil stack, through which the regeneration wastewater should discharge. Aqmos replied that this was impossible and suggested I check whether a trap, possibly the main soil stack, or a toilet was clogged. At this point, my patience finally ran out. I responded to Aqmos stating that there is no trap in the installation area of the system at all and asked whether they really believed that my wife and I have been using neighbors’ toilets for months (since the first flooding).

Realistically, one could at best say that it hardly seems possible for a plumbing company with a round-trip distance of about 300 km (186 miles), without a prior inspection of the installation site and, as in my case, potentially spending an additional hour at their own expense to obtain further parts, to assume the risk of providing this service—together with an apprentice, the business owner’s son—for a fixed price of 399 EUR. And this at a time when skilled tradespeople are generally hard to find. This alone speaks for the quality of the company in question, as well as for Aqmos as the intermediary. Unfortunately, this realization came too late for me.

I am happy to give the system away, subject to collection.