First Aid: Water & Descaling (Switzerland)

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Limescale is the number-one troublemaker in Switzerland: in many municipalities, hard to very hard water comes out of the tap — and that costs machines performance, flavour and, in the worst case, the warranty. The good news: with the right water you prevent almost all limescale problems before they even start.

⚠️ First things first: Descaling depends on the brand — some manufacturers don't allow it at all. La Marzocco does not provide for DIY descaling («water related issues are not warrantable» — water damage is not covered by the warranty), and Profitec advises against flush-through descaling. Never use vinegar or home remedies. Our rule: prevent rather than descale — and a limescaled machine belongs in Service.

1. Know your water: measure the hardness

  1. Look up your municipality's water hardness — officially at trinkwasser.ch (SVGW-Karte) — or measure it yourself with test strips.
  2. From around 25 °fH water counts as hard; much of Switzerland is above that (>32 °fH = hard to very hard).
  3. Store the hardness level on your machine if it has a setting for it — otherwise descaling reminders will never be accurate.

Background: Canton of Zürich — water hardness and what it means

2. Prevent: filter in the tank

  1. Place a Brita AquaGusto in the water tank — capacity 100 or 250 litres, replace after 6 months at the latest (use the replacement sticker).
  2. Target for your machine water: around 90–150 ppm TDS (La Marzocco recommendation) — soft enough against limescale, mineral enough for flavour and the sensors.
  3. Stay consistent: an expired filter no longer protects — put the intervals in your calendar.

Sources: BRITA — AquaGusto · La Marzocco — Water for Home Espresso Machines

Materials: Brita filters · Hardness test strips in Equipment

3. Compose your own water (Apax Lab)

For everyone who wants to build their brew water deliberately — ideal with reverse-osmosis or demineralised water as a base:

  1. Pure demineralised water extracts flat and empty — it needs minerals.
  2. Pre-brew: 3–4 g of Apax concentrate per litre of water.
  3. Or post-brew: filter coffee 5–10 drops per cup, espresso 1–2 drops.
  4. Approach it step by step — «start small, taste as you go».
  5. For machines, also comply with the manufacturer's water specification (minimum hardness/conductivity — level sensors don't like ultra-pure water).

Source: Apax Lab — How to use Mineral Concentrates

Play & understand: Water-chemistry simulator · Materials: Apax Lab

4. Descaling — the honest answer

  1. First check what your manufacturer allows: use only the product and programme it names — never vinegar or home remedies (BRITA warns explicitly: they attack components and seals).
  2. La Marzocco Home: no DIY descaling — instead, water care and draining the steam boiler regularly (an approved routine).
  3. Profitec: flush-through descaling is advised against — preventive water treatment is the way.
  4. If your manufacturer does provide a descaling programme: follow the instructions exactly and afterwards flush a full tank of fresh water through.
  5. Heavily limescaled or the programme aborts? Don't «force it through» with third-party products — off to Service.

Sources: BRITA — Descaling a coffee machine properly · La Marzocco — Water · Profitec — Cleaning & Care

Stop line: Do not pump any descaling solution through the boiler, E61 group or plumbed-in water connection. Never open the boiler or thermoblock.

Materials: Cleaners & manufacturer-compliant descalers

5. «New Brita filter — water tastes odd / black particles in the tank»

  1. Don't panic: black debris is activated carbon (a natural product from coconut shell) — harmless.
  2. Before use, swirl the cartridge in cold water until no more air bubbles rise.
  3. Discard the first ~2 litres.
  4. Keep to the intervals: jug cartridge max. 4 weeks, AquaGusto by capacity or max. 6 months.
  5. Store filtered water cool and use it fresh. If the off-taste remains: file a complaint about the batch — get in touch with us.

Source: BRITA — FAQ Filters & Cartridges

Stop line: Do not open, «regenerate» or use cartridges beyond their capacity.

6. Is my machine already limescaled?

Typical signs: the water flow weakens, heating up takes longer, the steam drops off, the descaling indicator comes on more and more often — or the espresso goes flatter even though you changed nothing.

  1. Check the water hardness and set up prevention (section 2) — otherwise the limescale comes straight back.
  2. If your manufacturer allows descaling: section 4.
  3. Otherwise: professional descaling in Service — that's considerably cheaper than boiler or heating-element damage, and the warranty stays clean.

Service & repairs at the Coffee Coaching Club

Nothing helped? Then it's on us.

Fastest line, around the clock: Ask Jackson, our AI coach in the chat here on the website — he helps immediately with questions, settings and troubleshooting.

For everything else — or if it's a warranty case — this helps us help you without rounds of follow-up questions:

  1. Reply to your order confirmation — that way we have your order number right at hand. (Can't find the email? Write to office@coffeecoachingclub.ch and give us the order number.)
  2. Device & purchase date: model, serial number (a photo of the type plate is enough), bought on …
  3. Fault description: what exactly happens, since when, how often?
  4. What you've already tried: which steps from this page?
  5. Photos & videos: of the problem and of the type plate — for noises please send a video with sound. Large videos (over ~20 MB) as a link.

We'll get back to you within 1–2 working days. Prefer in person? Book an appointment or drop by in Zürich & Bern.

Email template (just fill it in):

Order number: #
Device (brand + model):
Serial number (see type plate):
Purchased on:
Problem since:

What exactly happens:

What I have already tried (steps from the first-aid page):

Attachments: photo of type plate / photo or video of the problem

Your statutory and manufacturer warranty rights remain unaffected — the first-aid steps are voluntary and only a recommendation. Important: if you discover a defect, please report it to us promptly.

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