Cities We Serve
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Austin Water Quality
Austin Water Is Safe. It Is Also Hard, Treated and Different by Zip Code.
Most of the Austin metro drinks water from the Highland Lakes on the Colorado River. It meets the standards it has to meet, and it arrives with a mineral load high enough to scale every fixture in the house and a disinfectant you can taste and smell in a glass from the kitchen tap. Several of the northern suburbs, including Round Rock and Georgetown, blend lake water with groundwater from the Edwards Aquifer, which is harder still. And once you get past the utility lines into Dripping Springs, Driftwood, Spicewood and the outer edges of Liberty Hill, homes are on private wells drawing from limestone, where hardness, iron, sulfur odor and sediment vary from one property to the next and nobody is treating the water but you.
That is why we start with a test rather than a sales pitch. The right answer for a Mueller townhouse on city water is not the right answer for a well in Driftwood, and a softener does not fix what a filter fixes, or the reverse. We have installed and serviced treatment equipment in Austin homes since 1999, and the general explanation of each option is on our water quality page. Below is what tends to matter here.
- Test first Hardness, chlorine, pH, iron and more, at your tap, before any recommendation.
- No pressure, no overselling If a single filter solves it, that is what we quote.
- Installed by licensed plumbers Tied into your main line properly, permitted where required, and backed by our guarantee.
What You Notice
Water Complaints We Hear Around Austin
Each of these points to a different treatment. A test tells us which one you need.
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Tap water tastes like a swimming pool
The disinfectant that keeps city water safe through miles of pipe. A carbon filter at the whole house or the kitchen sink removes the taste and smell.
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Scale on fixtures, spots on glasses
Hardness. Lake water is hard; Edwards Aquifer blends and Hill Country wells are harder. A softener is the fix, and the water heater will thank you.
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A rotten-egg smell from the well
Sulfur, common on Trinity and Edwards wells west of town. Treatable with the right oxidizing or carbon system once we know the level.
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Orange stains in the tub and toilet
Iron, usually on well water. It ruins fixtures and laundry and needs its own filter ahead of a softener.
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Grit in the aerators after a storm
Sediment from a well or from utility main work. A sediment filter at the entry point protects every valve and appliance downstream.
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Dry skin and dull laundry
Hard water leaves soap behind on skin and fabric. Softened water rinses clean and uses less detergent to do it.
Treatment Options
Water Quality Systems We Install Across the Austin Area
Whole-house and point-of-use, for city water and private wells, matched to your test results.
- In-home water testing Hardness, chlorine, pH, iron, TDS and more from your own tap, with the results explained in plain terms.
- Water softeners Sized for household use and local hardness, with the drain and bypass done right. Details at Austin water softeners.
- Whole-house filtration Carbon and sediment systems at the main that take the chlorine taste and grit out of every tap. See water filtration.
- Reverse osmosis drinking water An under-sink system for the kitchen tap and the fridge line, for the water you actually drink. More at reverse osmosis.
- Well water treatment Iron, sulfur and sediment systems and UV disinfection for Hill Country wells, staged in the right order to work together.
- Pressure regulation High street pressure in some Austin-area zones stresses filters and appliances alike. A pressure-reducing valve protects the whole system.
How It Works
From a Water Test to Water You Like
We would rather sell you the right filter than the biggest system.
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Test at your tap
A licensed plumber tests the water where you use it and looks at the pressure, the plumbing and where equipment could go.
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Match the fix to the complaint
Taste is a filter; scale is a softener; a well may need both plus iron or sulfur treatment. We explain which applies and why.
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Price it in writing
Equipment, installation, permit if needed and ongoing maintenance, honored for 72 hours with no hidden fees.
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Install and retest
Tied into the main properly, bypass and drain done to code, then retested so you see the before and after.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
Curious What Is in Your Austin Water?
Book a test. You get the numbers and an honest recommendation, and you decide from there.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
I had Radiant Plumbing replace my tankless water heater, damaged in the Feb. 2021 snowmageddon storm with a new unit. The process was smooth and professional from start to finish. The plumber, James, was extremely knowledgeable and thoroughly explained my options to me. The cost and time to perform the installation were just as estimated. When he was done, James explained how to maintain the system, what service would be needed and how to perform it, and answered all of my engineering geek questions. It was a thoroughly positive experience. I have used several different plumbers in Austin over the past 15 yrs, but my search is over - I will not hesitate to call Radiant next time and would recommend them unreservedly.
8/9/23 Update: I have subsequently used Radiant for a toilet repair, faucet installation (Danny), and drain work (Ezekiel) and they have continued to impress with knowledgeable, friendly plumbers and quality work.
8/9/23 Update: I have subsequently used Radiant for a toilet repair, faucet installation (Danny), and drain work (Ezekiel) and they have continued to impress with knowledgeable, friendly plumbers and quality work.
★★★★★
We called Radiant Plumbing after we noticed a water leak in our kitchen. We were in a time crunch and they were able to schedule us quickly, before we left for vacation. They sent their representative, Preston Nichols, and he was excellent to deal with! He was on time, skillful, friendly, and very professional. It turned out to be a problem with our dishwasher but Preston was quick to diagnose it and set our minds at ease. While he was here, we mentioned that our one year-old water heater needed to be flushed. Preston was quick to take care of that, as well, saving us time and money in the process. Radiant charged us almost half the price another plumber quoted us for that service! While Radiant Plumbing isn’t our usual plumber, they gained a new customer. We won’t hesitate to call Radiant again in the future based on our VERY positive experience with them.
★★★★★
Had 3 different systems installed by them approx. 3 years ago for a total of approx $20k. I was quite happy with the install until the year later when they came for a maintenance call and started finding deficiencies in their own install. they wanted extra money to address those deficiencies. Now I am in the process of selling my home and an inspector has found a few items that need to be addressed and they will not even look at the report unless I schedule a $139.00 service call. Very poor customer service.. This company does not stand by their work and would not recommend.
I am revising my review of this business from 1 to 5 stars. After my original review I was contacted by the company's service manager and he made sure that I was taken care off. I had a team of 3 technicians coming to my house to double check the system and make the necessary adjustments. I was very satisfied by their attention to details and professionalism.
I am revising my review of this business from 1 to 5 stars. After my original review I was contacted by the company's service manager and he made sure that I was taken care off. I had a team of 3 technicians coming to my house to double check the system and make the necessary adjustments. I was very satisfied by their attention to details and professionalism.
Maintenance Membership
Join the Care Club
Home maintenance for $9.99 a month.
Care Club members get two HVAC tune-ups and a plumbing safety inspection every year, priority scheduling, no dispatch fees — ever — and 5% off every repair.
- Priority scheduling
- Seasonal HVAC tune-ups
- Annual safety inspection
- Exclusive member discounts
- Free dispatch on repairs
- No long-term contracts
Austin Water Quality Questions
If Austin tap water is safe, why would I treat it?
Because safe and pleasant are different standards, and safe for you is not the same as gentle on your plumbing. City water is treated to be free of harmful organisms and to meet regulatory limits, and it is. It is also hard enough to scale water heaters, tankless units, dishwashers and faucet valves years ahead of schedule, and it carries a disinfectant residual that many people can taste. Treatment at home is about comfort, appliance life and taste rather than safety. The exception is a private well, which nobody tests or treats but the owner. If you are on a well in Dripping Springs, Driftwood or Spicewood, a periodic test is the only way to know what you are drinking.
What is the difference between a water softener and a water filter?
A softener removes hardness minerals, mainly calcium and magnesium, by exchanging them for sodium or potassium on a resin bed. It stops scale, makes soap work and protects water heaters, but it does not change taste or remove chlorine. A filter does the opposite: a carbon filter removes chlorine taste and odor and some contaminants, a sediment filter catches grit, and a reverse osmosis system strips almost everything from drinking water at one tap. Most Austin homes on city water benefit from a softener for the house and a filter for the kitchen. A well may need sediment and iron treatment ahead of both. Our test shows which combination your water calls for.
We just bought a house on a well outside Dripping Springs. What should we test for?
Start with hardness, pH, iron, manganese, sulfur and total dissolved solids, since those drive taste, staining and equipment wear on Hill Country limestone wells. Then have a certified lab check bacteria and nitrates, which we cannot test at the tap and which matter for safety; many county and state programs and private labs offer that. Once you have both sets of results, the treatment plan usually stacks in a specific order: sediment first, then iron or sulfur treatment if needed, then softening, then UV disinfection or reverse osmosis at the kitchen. Putting them in the wrong order fouls the downstream equipment. We can design and install the whole train and set a maintenance schedule for it.
Does a whole-house filter need much maintenance?
Less than most people expect, but not none. A sediment cartridge in an Austin home is typically changed a few times a year, more often on a well that throws grit after storms. A whole-house carbon tank is usually rebedded every several years depending on use and chlorine level. A reverse osmosis system needs its prefilters changed regularly and the membrane less often. A softener needs salt and an occasional resin check. None of this is difficult, and we can handle it on the same visit as the annual plumbing safety inspection included with Care Club, which also gives members 5% off repairs and no dispatch fees.
*Offers cannot be combined with other promotions or applied to dispatch fees. No cash value. Must present offer at time of service. Call for details.
