It requires about 6-8 hours of labor to disassemble a machine, de-lime the components, and then reassemble the machine. The normal bill for de-liming a two-group machine is over $600.
To make it even worse, your machine may be in our shop for a week or more.
After your machine is cleaned, you’ll continue to get a limited amount of lime buildup even when you use a water softener, but the buildup won’t be as fast or as severe.
Think of water softening as a low cholesterol diet for your espresso machine; you can’t completely eliminate the risk of a heart attack with a low cholesterol diet, but you can greatly minimize the chances.