A water softener in Scottsdale is chosen the same way as anywhere in the Valley: from your own water’s hardness. You may also want reverse osmosis for drinking water, and in the desert it is worth choosing an RO system that sends less water down the drain. This page covers both.
Water Treatment Phoenix is an independent referral service, not an installer, plumber or water utility. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local water treatment pro who can contact you and prepare a quote.
Your hardness figure
This site prints hardness figures only from a water utility’s own report, for that utility’s customers. Which provider serves each address in Scottsdale, and its hardness, was not checked for this site, so no figure is given here. Look at your water bill for the provider’s name, then read its annual water quality report.
Use the USGS scale to read the figure: 0 to 60 mg/L soft, 61 to 120 moderately hard, 121 to 180 hard, over 180 very hard. One grain per gallon is about 17 mg/L.
Choosing a softener
- Certified: NSF/ANSI 44 for an ion exchange softener.
- Sized: to your hardness and your household’s water use.
- Set: the control valve set to the hardness at your tap.
- Explained: you know how to add salt, use the bypass and spot hard water returning.
Water utilities commonly note that some softening systems can increase the corrosivity of water, which can damage a water heater’s anode. Ask how the softener is set and when to check the anode.
Reverse osmosis that wastes less
A salt-based softener adds sodium in exchange for the hardness it removes. Some households add reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink for drinking water. EPA’s WaterSense program says a typical point-of-use RO system generates five gallons or more of reject water for every gallon of treated water, and some inefficient units up to 10. A WaterSense labeled system sends 2.3 gallons or less to the drain per gallon treated.
| RO unit | Reject water per gallon treated |
|---|---|
| Typical, per EPA | 5 gallons or more |
| Inefficient, per EPA | Up to 10 gallons |
| WaterSense labeled | 2.3 gallons or less |
Ask for a WaterSense labeled system certified to NSF/ANSI 58, the standard for RO drinking water systems.
Want a softener and RO quote?
Check permits with the City of Scottsdale before work starts. For more, see water softeners and reverse osmosis.
Where everything goes
The softener sits on the main line where water enters the house, with a drain for its regeneration water, power for the valve and room to reach the salt tank. The RO system sits under the kitchen sink, with its own faucet and a drain connection for its reject water. Ask the installer to show you both spots before quoting, and to list both on one quote if you want both.
Upkeep
Keep salt in the softener’s brine tank and follow the maker’s schedule for service. Change the RO prefilters, membrane and final filter on the maker’s schedule. A dissolved solids reading at the RO faucet tells you whether it is still working: if the figure creeps up, ask the pro to check it. A hardness test at the kitchen tap does the same for the softener.
Questions to ask
- What hardness and dissolved solids did you measure at my tap?
- Which softener model, and where is its NSF/ANSI 44 listing?
- Is the RO system WaterSense labeled and certified to NSF/ANSI 58?
- Where do the drain lines go?
- Who handles any permit?
Why water efficiency matters here
Both systems send water to the drain: a softener when it regenerates, an RO unit as reject water whenever it makes drinking water. In a desert city it is worth asking how much. For RO, the WaterSense label sets a clear line at 2.3 gallons or less to the drain per gallon treated. For a softener, ask how the control valve decides when to regenerate, how much water each regeneration sends to the drain, and how the settings match your hardness and your household’s use. Ask the pro to explain the settings in plain words, and keep the answers with the unit.
To ask for a quote in Scottsdale, send the form with your ZIP code and what you notice. Your request goes to an independent water treatment pro who works in the Valley, who can contact you, test your water and prepare a quote. Asking is free, and you are never obliged to go ahead. If you are not sure which system you need, choose “Not sure” on the form and describe what you see when the pro can contact you. Have your water bill to hand, so you can name your provider.
Ask a local pro