Water Softeners in Austin & San Antonio

In Austin or San Antonio, you can assume you do. The region’s water is hard by any standard, and San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer supply is among the hardest municipal water you will find. The signs at home are white scale on shower heads and faucets, spots on glassware, soap that will not lather well, a film on shower doors, and a water heater that rumbles. Your water utility’s annual report lists the measured hardness, and we test it at your tap during a visit so the softener is sized to the actual number rather than an assumption. Hardness is measured in grains per gallon, and the higher the number, the more capacity the softener needs.

Softener size is about capacity, measured in grains, and it comes from three things: how hard your water is, how many people live in the house, and how much water they use. A unit that is too small regenerates constantly, burning through salt and water. One that is far too large costs more up front and can sit too long between regenerations. We measure hardness at your tap, ask about the household, and pick a capacity that regenerates about once a week or so under normal use. If you have a large family, a big soaking tub or a lot of laundry, that pushes the size up, and we will explain why.

It depends on your hardness, your water use and how the unit is programmed, but for most Central Texas households it works out to a bag or two every month or two. Check the brine tank once a month: if the salt is below halfway, add some. Use a good-quality softener salt, keep the tank no more than about two-thirds full so a salt bridge does not form above the water, and if the level ever stops dropping, that bridge is probably the reason and a broom handle will break it up. A softener that is set up efficiently for your actual hardness uses noticeably less salt than one left on factory defaults, which is why we program it during the install.

Softened water is safe for most people to drink, and it does not taste salty. The softener exchanges hardness minerals for a small amount of sodium, and how much depends on how hard the incoming water was. In very hard water like San Antonio’s, the amount is higher than in milder water, though still small compared with most foods. People on strict sodium restrictions sometimes prefer to keep a separate unsoftened tap for drinking, or, more commonly here, add a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink, which removes the sodium along with everything else. Potassium chloride can be used instead of sodium salt, at a higher cost per bag.

Most Central Texas homes are slab-on-grade with no basement, so the softener goes wherever the main water line can be reached after the meter and before it branches. In newer homes that is often the garage, where builders sometimes rough in a softener loop for exactly this purpose. In older homes without a loop, we typically install one in the garage or in a protected spot outside near where the service line enters, with a cover or enclosure for the sun and the occasional freeze. The unit needs a drain for regeneration and an outlet for the control valve. We tell you the options for your house during the quote, and we run the bypass so the outdoor hose bibs and irrigation stay on hard water.