Water Softener Installation in West Milwaukee

How a softener helps your home

Calcium and magnesium ride along in hard water. Heat makes them settle out as scale. On the outside, that's the chalky ring around a faucet or the haze on shower glass. On the inside, it collects at the bottom of your water heater, and the heater has to burn more energy to give you the same hot water.

Inside a softener is a tank full of resin beads that grab those minerals as water passes through. On a schedule set by your water use, the unit rinses the beads with a salt brine and sends the hardness down the drain. The water you get afterward feels smoother, and a little soap goes a long way.

Some homes don't need one at all. Your water utility puts out a yearly report that lists hardness, and we're happy to look it over with you by phone. If a softener isn't a good match, we'll tell you, and we can talk about whether whole-home filtration or reverse osmosis gets you what you want.

What your softener install covers

Capacity matched to your home

We choose the unit by your water's hardness and how many people live with you. Too small and it regenerates constantly and burns through salt. Too big and you've paid for capacity that never gets used.

A control that counts gallons

The valve we put in keeps track of the water you use and cleans the resin when it's due, not on a fixed calendar. That means less salt and less water sent to the drain.

Bypass valve at the tie-in

With a bypass, you can shut the softener out of the loop and still have running water everywhere else. Most homes can also have the outdoor spigots piped around the softener, so your garden hose stays on hard water.

Drain line with an air gap

Each cleaning cycle sends rinse water to a drain. We leave an air gap on that line so drain water can never be drawn back into the unit.

First run and a quick lesson

We fill the brine tank, set your hardness level and run the first cycle. Then we show you how to check the salt, which only takes a few minutes.

Old unit out, floor clean

If an old softener is sitting where the new one belongs, we disconnect it and haul it off. We clean up the work area before we load the truck.

Clues that hard water is a problem in your home

• Chalky rings on fixtures

  White deposits around faucets, on showerheads and at the bottom of the toilet tank are scale. Scrubbing only buys you a week or two.

• Cloudy glassware

  If glasses come out of the dishwasher hazy and plates have a white film, hard water is the usual cause. Switching detergent rarely fixes it.

• Crackling from the water heater

  Popping or rumbling while the burner runs often means scale has built up on the tank floor. The heater has to push heat through that layer, so it costs more to run and wears out faster.

• Soap that barely foams

  Shampoo and dish soap go fast because it takes so much to work up suds. Many people also notice dry skin after showering.

• A softener that's lost its edge

  The salt keeps disappearing, yet the spots and crust have returned. Tired resin or a worn valve is often to blame, and at some point replacing the unit beats fixing it again.

What happens from first call to final cleanup

1. 1

   You call and talk to one person

   Whoever answers is the person who coordinates your job from start to finish. We talk about your water, where the main line comes into your home and what's bothering you. You can hear the financing details on that same call.

2. 2

   Your quote in writing

   Equipment and labor are listed on separate lines, so you can see where the money goes. The price is good for 30 days. If you sign and then have second thoughts, you have three business days to cancel.

3. 3

   The install

   We shut off the water, set the softener near the main line, add the bypass and run the drain. Before any of that, we tell you how long the water will be off so you can plan around it.

4. 4

   Startup, cleanup, then payment

   We start the unit, go over the basics with you and clean up the area. Full payment is due once the install is done, not before.

What sets the price of a softener

Every basement is plumbed a little differently, so we price your job after we know your water and your pipes. Most of the spread between one install and another comes down to a few things. If you'd rather pay over time, financing is offered through U.S. Bank Avvance, on approved credit.

Hardness and household size

Harder water and more people at home both mean the unit has to hold more. Sometimes that calls for a larger resin tank.

Metered or timer control

A valve that counts gallons costs a bit more at the start than a plain timer. Over the years it earns some of that back in salt you never have to buy.

Where the unit sits

The distance to a floor drain, the type of pipe on your main line and whether there's an outlet nearby all change how much labor the job takes.

An old softener in the way

Unhooking and hauling away a unit that's already there adds some time to the day.

Iron and other well problems

Some wells carry more iron than a plain softener should handle alone. Then well water treatment may go in ahead of the softener, and we quote the two together as one job.