Plumbed is awesome. It makes it so much more likely that you'll use the steam function every single time, when you need it.

Hard water is a challenge either way. You could use the un-plumbed oven and fill it with bottled water. But you need to make sure that it has some mineral content. Distilled water or reverse-osmosis water is not recommended as it can ultimately damage the unit.

You could also just use your regular tap water and pay more attention about descaling the unit. In fact, the CSO keeps track of when it needs descaling and Miele sells you special tablets that you need to put into the water container every so often. I bought mine in bulk on Amazon, BTW.

Or you could do, what I would actually suggest, and you could install a ion-exchanger water softener just for your kitchen; or maybe, even just for the steam oven. It removes the hardness and replaces it with sodium. You'll end up with saltier but soft water. The appliance likes that better. Just remember to replace or to regenerate the cartridge whenever it is depleted.

Incidentally, your dishwasher would also really prefer to have soft water. That's why some Miele models come with built-in water softeners that you need to regenerate every few months.

As for drinking water, the extra salt isn't ideal. So, some people prefer to drink hard water, but use soft water for everything else.

Oh, wow! Thank you! I had no idea this was so complicated!!

Have you chosen an oven yet? Which did you go with? I'm also planning to buy a Miele CSO and additional 30" wall oven underneath it.

Good call! The Miele CSO is so nice. We use it all the time. In fact, while I also have a Miele SpeedOven and a 30" gas oven in the range, the CSO is by far the most frequently used oven.

That's why I would suggest you optimize your CSO for most easy access. We have it mounted at just slightly below countertop height. That seems pretty ideal, but I guess if you had to move it a little higher, it would still be OK.

Love my plumbed xxl Miele combi steam!

Jen - the only appliance that I have nailed down as of now is the Miele CSO. I thought I was going to do induction cooktop and single wall oven, but a range may be better space wise. Maybe the Miele induction range, but I wish it was 36 instead of 30.” How about you?

slsunrise - I'm still figuring out which oven to get. I thought about getting a Miele oven to pair with the Miele CSO, but decided to try a different brand and compare the features. I'm deciding between Wolf and Bosch Benchmark. I'm hesitant to go with the Wolf because of the chipping issues but it has a better warranty. Bluestar was on my radar for a while, but decided to pass on it for now because it doesn't sit flush. We will be placing a 36" induction cooktop in our home.

I too am deciding what to get.. between a miele CSO xxl and a thermador convection steam oven.. I want the broil feature and only those two offer it... wolf does not. Since i will be putting the cso with a single convection under it and another single convection under a cooktop next it I don't think there is an option to mix appliance,..whatever cso i get i have to have that brand single ovens for it to match.. The stainless on miele is different than thermador and wolf and so are the handles and aesthetically it wouldl look good aren't you worried about that?

theunt - yes, I do worry about that, in general. My CSO will not be right near my other oven, so it won't be an issue in my kitchen.

I want the broil feature and only those two offer it... wolf does not. Since i will be putting the cso with a single convection under it and another single convection under a cooktop next it I don't think there is an option to mix appliance,

While Miele's CSO has a broiler element, it's only about as powerful as what you'd expect for an "average" residential oven. I find it works to give dishes a little bit of heat from the top, but it isn't really very useful for char broiling. That's a problem with a lot of ovens.

If you want to get a good broiler, you need to buy a higher-end gas oven (those often advertise what they call "IR" broilers), or you need to buy a Bluestar wall oven. That is one of the few electric ovens that is known for having a very good broiler element.

Putting a wall oven under a cooktop doesn't generally work all that well. Not only do you have to negotiate the clearance requirements between the wall oven and the cooktop, there also is the problem that wall ovens typically sit closer to the floor. With in-wall installation, that's awesome. But when you are already in a bottom cabinet, that means the door is too close to the floor and it's very awkward to access.

As for mixing and matching, I honestly wouldn't worry too much. Nobody is really going to notice after a few weeks. It's a little more noticeable when the units are directly next to each other. But even that doesn't matter much. We have a stack of Miele CSO and SpeedOven in the wall, and a Bluestar range right next to it. I don't think anybody has spotted the different brands yet. We also have a paneled SubZero fridge, but we installed a Miele handle, as it happened to be cheaper and a design that worked better for us.

I agree with M - I'm not worried about mixing and matching. For me, I am more concerned with the function than the look between the two ovens. I think the stainless steel finishes will be close enough for me. I had considered the Thermador steam oven as well as it is a 30" width, but I don't like having to open the door to refill the water tank.