Water hardness

Berlin's water supply is certified safe for drinking, but depending on the area of the city in which you live, it is either very or extremely hard. In practical terms, this means that soap lathers poorly, hair and skin appear dull and measures must be taken to protect small and large appliances from damaging lime scale (calcium) build-up.

Dishwashers require addition of a special salt compound ( Spezialsalz ), found next to dishwasher detergent in supermarkets. Some detergents have formulas with the salt built-in. If your laundry detergent does not have a protective formulation, look for special calcium-dissolving solutions in the same aisle as detergents. For small appliances such as coffee makers, electric kettles and humidifiers, look for "antikalk" solutions suitable for each purpose, i.e. food/ non-food, though a regular vinegar rinse may also do the job. Remember to use boiled or distilled water in your steam iron - the lime scale build-up devil rapidly creeps up on unsuspecting straight-from-the-tap water users.

On its website , the city waterworks ( BWB - Berliner Wasserbetriebe ) provides precise information about water quality in the districts served by its 11 plants. Simply input your postal code ( PLZ ) in the space provided and you will receive figures for sodium ( Natrium ), lead ( Blei ), nitrate ( Nitrat ), and fluoride ( Fluorid ) levels as well as total hardness ( Gesamt Härte ) and degree of hardness ( Härtegrad ) ranging from 1- 4, 4 being the hardest. Detailed information in English is also available on their website . For best results, dose your detergent according to the hardness of your water.