Hard water in the Salt Lake Valley
Water here picks up calcium and magnesium on its way out of the mountains and out of the ground. That is what “hard” means. It is safe to drink, but it is rough on a house.
You have hard water if you see:
- White crust on faucets, shower heads and around drains
- Spots on glasses and dishes, even right out of the dishwasher
- Soap that will not lather, and a film left on your skin and hair
- Stiff laundry and towels
- Rumbling from the water heater, which is scale cooking on the bottom of the tank
Want the number for your house? Your city or water district publishes a water quality report every year, and hardness is on it.
What hard water costs you
Scale is the real problem. It coats the inside of anything that heats water.
- Water heaters fill with scale and fail early. See water heater replacement.
- Tankless water heaters clog in the heat exchanger and shut down.
- Dishwashers and washing machines wear out sooner.
- Faucets and shower valves get stiff, drip, and need new cartridges.
A softener takes the calcium and magnesium out before the water reaches any of it.
How we install a softener
- Size it. We look at the number of people in the house and the water hardness. No oversized units.
- Find the spot. A softener needs three things nearby: the main water line, a drain, and a power outlet.
- Connect it. If your home has a soft water loop, we tie into it. If it does not, we cut into the main line after it enters the house.
- Leave the outside water hard. Hose bibs and sprinklers should stay on untreated water.
- Install a bypass valve, so the softener can be serviced without shutting off the house.
- Run the drain line with a proper air gap, so nothing can siphon back.
- Program and start it. We set it to your hardness and run the first cycle.
You approve the price before we start.
Does your home have a soft water loop?
Many Utah homes built since the 1990s have one. Look in the garage or the mechanical room, near the water heater, for a U-shaped piece of pipe that sticks out of the wall and goes right back in. There is usually a drain stub and an outlet beside it.
If you have a loop, the install is simple. If you do not, we can still put in a softener. It takes more pipe work, and we will show you where it would go.
Building or remodeling? Ask us to rough in a loop during new construction or a remodel. It costs very little while the walls are open.
Free with a tankless water heater
We give a softener away with every tankless water heater install, plus up to 20% off the package. Tankless units and hard water do not get along, so we would rather install both and have the heater last.
If your water heater is more than 10 years old, look at the package before you buy a softener on its own.
Softener repair and replacement
A softener that has stopped working usually shows it one of three ways. The salt level never goes down, the unit runs all the time, or the water has gone hard again. Sometimes it is a simple fix, like a salt bridge or a stuck valve. Sometimes the resin is worn out and a new unit makes more sense. We will tell you which.
Where we install water softeners
We install softeners across Salt Lake County, including West Jordan, Sandy, Salt Lake City, South Jordan, Herriman, Riverton and Draper. See all service areas.