Water filter-burst tube

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1

My neighbour has a water filter attached to the tap in the kitchen (see picture-my neighbours is similar but a different looking tap). The filter is in the cupboard under the sink. The tap has two outlets-one for filtered water and the other for normal water. She had it installed privately. The landlord had nothing to do with it and takes no responsibility for it.

Last week one of the water tubes (part of the filter system) ruptured and water flooded her kitchen and the shared cellar underneath the kitchen.

She said it was quite old and therefore maybe no garantie anymore.

If it is out of garantie could she claim water damages from the makers of the filter.? Maybe there is a longer garantie on the water tubes. Otherwise its going to cost her alot. The Laminate had to be ripped out and the concrete underneath has to be dried. She has no insurance of her own to cover this damage.

Would water come out of a burst tube even if the tap on turned off?

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3

I assume she is the owner of the property? If so, she should enquire with the insurances she has (including building insurance) to see if she is even partially covered. Unfortunately, if she is the owner, she is liable for damage to her own property, especially if she has not kept up the required maintenance.

I have installed a couple of Shelly water detectors in the kitchen and laundry, and they have alerted us to two major leaks : broken washing machine and burst expansion tank in the heating.

4

She is a tenant here not the owner. She had the filter installed and the owner of the apartment block ( Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Zürich) takes no responsibility for it or any damages caused.

5

Apologies for veering off topic, but since I’d not heard of these before:

Can these detect a water leak inside walls, where no water has yet burst through?

Thinking of the Great Flood of 2025, when a slow pipe leak, inside tiled walls, that likely had been dripping for months or years resulted in major damage to three floors of the house. Would love to have some kind of early alert so that doesn’t happen again.

Thanks!

Now back to Omtastat’s friend’s problem…

7

Dont know who installed it. But it was the water tube that burst so it seems its the responsibility of the manufacturers.

9

How old was it? Maybe it had just reached the end of its life as these things don’t last forever.
Had she ever had the system maintained?
If she had no insurance then her only votes of action is to contact the people who installed it and see if there is some form of guarantee attached to the system.

10

Third party liability insurance is obligatory in Switzerland, like health insurance. Usually you do get it combined with house contents insurance, and is not very expensive.

11

It depends on the canton as with so many things here.

12

Maybe they have some insurance that covers this, worth asking as they probably wouldn’t volunteer such information.

13

I would say the blame lies on the manufacturer of the filter (sub-standard materials).

14

Proving that is going to be quite a task. Should it be true, it is going to be an even bigger task to get them accept liability. If you rent, you are responsible for any changes, particularily if the landlord was not asked or at least informed. It is really important to ensure that plumbing is well maintained. The water filter is probably connected at the mains pressure.
I have two insurances that are relevant - a household policy and a general liability insurance. AFAIK, neither are compulsory in Canton Zug and it is only the household one that may be compulsory elsewhere.

17

Yes I am sure they have insurance. But the pipe/tube that burst (part of the water filter) was not put in by them but by the woman renting the apartment. So that maybe complicates things.

Would water come out of a burst tube even if the tap on turned off?

19

What do you mean sub-let? Its not sub-let. The apartment is leased out from the ABZ to the present tenant.

20

If it was the pipe supplying the tap then of course it would.

21

As @Bowlie states, yes, the water can still leak if the valve is closed, until the pipe is empty. Had suffered that unfortunate experience myself.

Imagine, for a moment, that the pipes that she has fitted are not within the water pressure specs that the building has, so the pipe bursts.

Or that she has not maintained properly the filter, replacing / cleaning it every X months, so it clogs (due to high Ca, Fe, Mn water contents, the very reason for the filter), increases the pressure on the inlet, and triggers the problem.

The guarantees of these type of items are very strict. If the guarantee has expired, there is nothing that she can do. And the manufacturers of hardware are very clear that they only cover defects of the item, not related to wrong installation, poor maintenance or misusage.

As such, proving that it is a technical fault of a pipe, after years of usage and out-of-guarantee, is going to be beyond impossible. It will be cheaper for her to replace the flooring than to engage a lawyer trying to find someone else to pay for the disaster.

I had a similar situation - in my case with a new radiator (I was the owner of the flat); the water flooded -during Xmas- my bathroom, and the kitchen of the woman below me.
The installer said it was well installed (after almost a year on usage with no problems). The insurance sent an engineer, who confirmed that there was no problem neither with the installation, nor with the radiator valves. The problem? a massive pressure increase on the system due to an extraordinary event (this was in Eslovaquia, where there is still ‘central heating provided by the state -and not building- pipes network’), and my flat, being the one at the top of the building, had to endure the sudden and massive pressure increase. So sudden, that the security valve basically shoot off like a bullet, releasing the boiling water. Thanks God there was nobody at home - although we found still about 4 fingers of water when we came back.
Go figure how to prove it, and take to court the state-heating company… :wink:

23

Omtastat’s ‘friend’.

24

Why do you ask such a question!!? My neighbour if that makes you happy. :zany_face:

1 Like
26

Ah. Have you invited her around for dinner yet?

27

No. But I checked out her water tube.

28

@bowlie: you were out of line, me thinks. let it go? :peace_symbol: