Whole-house water softeners in Phoenix

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.

What whole-house means

Water treatment can go in two places: at the point where water enters the house, or at a single tap. A whole-house softener is the first kind. Because it treats water before the water heater, it addresses the scaling the City of Phoenix report describes in pipes, water heaters and plumbing fixtures.

	Whole-house softener	Point-of-use system
Where	Main line, before the water heater	One tap
Treats	Hardness for the whole house	Drinking water at that tap
Example	Ion exchange softener, NSF/ANSI 44	Reverse osmosis, NSF/ANSI 58

Pairing it with a filter or RO

A softener treats hardness and nothing else. If you also notice a taste or odor, a whole-house filter certified to NSF/ANSI 42 for aesthetic effects can sit on the same line. If you want drinking water with fewer dissolved solids, reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink is a separate, point-of-use system. A salt-based softener adds sodium in exchange for the hardness it removes; If that matters to you, ask your doctor and talk the options through with the pro.

• Softener only: scale and soap.
• Softener and whole-house filter: scale plus a taste or odor in every tap.
• Softener and RO: scale, plus a separate drinking water tap.

What a whole-house quote should list

1. The hardness measured at your tap and the softener’s capacity in grains.
2. The model and its NSF/ANSI 44 certification.
3. Any filter on the same line, with its certification and what it treats.
4. Where the system goes, the drain connection and the bypass.
5. Which taps stay on hard water, if any, such as outdoor hose bibs.
6. The City of Phoenix permit: the city lists installing or replacing a water softener among projects that may require a permit; ask whether one is needed and who pulls it.

The same rule applies to every part: pick equipment certified for what you want removed, and check that the certification covers it.

Is a whole-house system right for you?

A whole-house softener makes sense when the complaint is everywhere: scale on every faucet, spots on the shower glass, soap scum in every tub and crust in the kettle. If the only thing you care about is the water you drink, a point-of-use system at the kitchen sink may be enough, and a softener may be more than you need. Hardness is not a health standard, the City of Phoenix report says, so this is a choice about upkeep and comfort, not a requirement.

Think about the house too. A whole-house softener needs a spot on the main line with a drain and power nearby and room to reach the salt tank. Ask the installer to look before quoting. If your home already has a softener loop, the job may be simpler; if the main line has to be opened up, the quote should say so.

Living with it

Day to day, a whole-house softener asks little: keep salt in the brine tank, follow the maker’s schedule for service, and check now and then that soft water is coming out at the kitchen tap. A simple hardness test before and after the softener tells you whether it is working. If hard water returns, softener repair and service explains what to check first.

The water heater

Softening the water before the water heater is the point of a whole-house system. Water utilities commonly note that some softening systems can increase corrosivity, which can damage the anode in a water heater. Ask how the softener will be set and when to check the anode.

Related pages

For sizing and choosing a softener, see water softeners in Phoenix. For the installation itself and the permit, see softener installation. For filters, see water filtration in Phoenix.

To ask for a quote, send the form with your ZIP code. Your request goes to an independent water treatment pro in the Valley, who can contact you and prepare a quote. Asking is free.

Questions people ask