Questions we get, answered plainly

No color-changing drops, no demos and no two-hour pitch. We use calibrated meters, your utility's own water report and a certified lab for health contaminants and wells. You get a written report with your address, the date and the method.

Before we install, we write down the target the system has to hit, on paper, with your address and the method. After the install we test the same taps the same way. If the after number misses the target, you get your money back. We will give you the full written terms before you agree to anything.

No. You get the report either way. If your water is already fine, we say so and we don't sell you a system.

Chlorine and chloramine are hard on softener resin. Putting catalytic carbon first protects the resin and gives every tap chlorine-free water.

It is a good starting point and we always read it. But it reports the system, not your house. Hardness varies by treatment plant and season, and lead comes from your own service line and plumbing, which no district report can measure for you.

Usually not. City water there is already soft, so a softener wouldn't change the hardness number. If the taste or smell bothers you, whole-home carbon or drinking-water RO is the better fit.

Chlorine and chloramine are hard on softener resin. Putting catalytic carbon first protects the resin and gives every tap chlorine-free water.

It depends on three things we measure first: your hardness, how much water your household uses, and the plumbing where the softener goes. Those decide the size and how much work the install takes, which is why we quote after the test rather than over the phone. The quote covers the install, the permit where your city requires one, and the before and after test.

Where your utility publishes hard water, usually yes. Above about 7 grains per gallon, scale on fixtures, film on glasses and buildup in the water heater are hard to miss. Under 1, a softener has nothing to do. Most of the Denver metro sits in between, which is why we measure at your tap, and if your number doesn't justify a softener, we say so.

Size comes from the grains removed per day: people, times gallons per person per day, times hardness. Very hard water, like the 14.6 grains per gallon Thornton publishes for summer, removes more grains every day, so it needs more capacity to avoid regenerating every few days. Your scorecard gives the hardness we size from.

Plenty of handy homeowners do. It is mostly plumbing: a bypass valve, a drain line that ends in an air gap, and a brine tank overflow. Installing one for someone else is different: Colorado treats water conditioning equipment as plumbing, so that takes a licensed plumber or a registered water conditioning contractor. Either way, test your hardness before and after so you know it is working.

For an install done for hire, yes. Colorado treats water conditioning equipment as plumbing, so it has to be installed by a licensed plumber or a registered water conditioning contractor, and some cities also require a permit. We pull the permit where your city requires one.

Usually part of a day. It is a few hours when the house already has a softener loop and a drain nearby, and longer when new plumbing has to run to the spot. We will tell you which it is after we have seen the space.

After the sediment and carbon filters. Sediment protects the softener valve, and carbon removes the chlorine and chloramine that wear out softener resin. On a well, iron and sulfur filtration also goes before the softener.

Where the main line enters the house: after the branch to the outdoor spigots and before the water heater. It also needs a drain for the regeneration water and an outlet for a metered valve. Outdoor taps usually stay unsoftened, because lawns and gardens don't need soft water.

Yes. The drain line has to end above the drain with an open air gap, never piped straight into it, so wastewater can't be siphoned back into your supply. Local plumbing code sets the exact distance.

Softened water is ordinary drinking water with one change: the softener swaps the hardness minerals for sodium. A common rule of thumb is roughly 7 to 8 milligrams of sodium per liter for every grain per gallon it removes, so the harder your water, the more it adds. If you would rather not drink it, we leave one cold tap unsoftened or add reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink.

Often 10 to 15 years or more, and the resin is usually what wears first. Chlorine and chloramine shorten resin life, which is one reason carbon goes in ahead of it. On an open-platform valve, worn seals and pistons are standard parts, so a repair doesn't mean a new softener.

A little. Each regeneration sends some water and brine down the drain, and you buy salt. A metered softener sized to your house regenerates only when the resin is actually spent, which keeps both lower than a timer that regenerates on a schedule.

Yes, and on most Denver-area city water it is the usual setup: catalytic carbon first, then the softener. A single cabinet that does both is convenient, but two tanks let each one be sized properly and replaced on its own schedule.

One installed after iron removal and sized from the lab's hardness and iron numbers. Iron fouls softener resin, so on most wells the softener goes after the iron and sulfur filter, on a metered valve.

A hardness test strip gives you a rough number in a minute. Scale on fixtures and spots on glasses suggest hard water but don't measure it. Your utility's water quality report gives the average, and our in-home test measures your own tap by titration.

No. No color-changing drops, no demonstrations and no two-hour pitch at the kitchen table. You get your readings in writing, what they mean, and a straight answer, including that you don't need anything. You keep the scorecard either way.

Less scale on faucets, shower doors and glass, and less building up inside your water heater, dishwasher and washing machine, so they need less cleaning and tend to last longer. Soap and shampoo lather with less product, and dishes come out without spots. Most people also notice the shower: skin and hair don't feel as dry or tight afterwards.

Mostly, keep salt in the brine tank. Add a bag when the level gets low, usually every 4 to 8 weeks depending on your hardness and how much water you use. A metered softener regenerates on its own, only when it needs to. Once a year, break up any hard crust of salt in the tank and check that the drain line is clear. We walk you through it on install day.

Call or text us. We service every softener we install. If the water starts to feel hard again, the salt level stops going down, or the softener keeps running, tell us what you're seeing and we'll come out. We install valves that take standard parts, so a repair is usually a part, not a new softener.

The softener equipment we install carries a lifetime warranty. You get the warranty terms in writing with your quote, before you agree to anything.

Usually, yes. A softener needs a spot on the main line after the outdoor spigots and before the water heater, room for the brine tank beside it, a drain and an outlet. Compact tanks fit tight utility rooms and closets. We look at the space during your water test and tell you what fits.

Not if it's sized right. An undersized softener, or a valve with small ports, can drop the pressure when several taps run at once. We size the tank and valve to your bathrooms and your flow, and if your pressure is already low, we measure it during the test.

You keep salt in the brine tank, usually a bag every 4 to 8 weeks, and each regeneration sends some water and brine down the drain. Softened water carries a little more sodium, roughly 7 to 8 milligrams per liter for every grain per gallon it removes. It needs floor space for the brine tank, a drain and an outlet, and your outdoor taps stay unsoftened. If your hardness doesn't justify all that, we'll tell you.

It depends on what bothers you. A salt-free conditioner uses no salt and no drain, and it can cut down scale in pipes and heaters, but it doesn't remove hardness: a hardness test reads about the same afterwards. For drinking water, reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink is the usual choice. Salt-free vs. salt-based water softeners compares the two.

Some. An RO membrane sends a stream of concentrate to the drain as it makes clean water. Modern systems are far more efficient than older ones, and it only runs when the tank is refilling.

The sediment and carbon prefilters are the routine change, often about once a year, and the membrane lasts several years longer. Your water and how much you draw set the exact schedule, which we give you in writing. A TDS meter shows you when: compare your tap with the RO faucet, and when the gap narrows, something is due.

It sends some water to the drain while it makes clean water, it refills its tank slowly, and it treats only the faucet it feeds. It also removes minerals along with the contaminants, which some people notice in the taste.

Millions of people do: much of the bottled water sold in the U.S. is purified by reverse osmosis. RO water simply has fewer dissolved minerals. If you prefer some minerals in the taste, a remineralizing cartridge adds calcium and magnesium back.

Because the membrane works by flushing away what it removes. Water is pushed across the membrane, clean water passes through, and the rejected concentrate goes down the drain instead of building up. It only flows while the tank is refilling.

Dissolved gases and some small chemicals, such as certain solvents, pass through a membrane, which is why RO systems include carbon stages. RO also isn't a disinfection system for untreated water: on a well with bacteria, that is a job for UV. And it only treats the water at its own faucet.

It depends on the system (tank or tankless), where the faucet and drain connection can go, and the space under your sink. We quote after the test, and we give you the cartridge costs up front so the running cost isn't a surprise.

No. No color-changing drops, no demonstrations and no two-hour pitch at the kitchen table. You get your readings in writing, what they mean, and a straight answer, including that you don't need anything. You keep the scorecard either way.

Usually a few hours. It mounts under the kitchen sink with its own faucet and a drain line. It takes longer if the faucet needs a new hole in the countertop or a line runs to the fridge, and we tell you which after we've seen the cabinet.

Plenty of handy homeowners do: it is mostly push-fit tubing, a drain connection and a faucet. The parts people get wrong are the drain connection and drilling a stone countertop for the faucet. Installing one for someone else in Colorado is plumbing work, so a licensed plumber does ours, and we test before and after so you can see what it does.

It doesn't have to sit right under the sink. It can go in a basement below the kitchen, with tubing run up to the faucet, and a line can also feed the fridge or ice maker. Longer runs mean a little less flow at the faucet. We look at the space during your water test and tell you where it fits.

Wells vary too much to guess. Iron, sulfur, hardness, bacteria, nitrate, arsenic and uranium all need different equipment. A certified lab result tells us what to build and sets the targets we have to hit.

It depends on your question: lead, PFAS, bacteria, or a full private-well panel. We help you pick the right panel, and the lab result comes with a plain-English summary.

At least once a year for coliform bacteria, nitrate and nitrite, which is what Colorado's health department recommends after a first baseline test. Test again after any work on the well, a flood, or a change in taste, smell or color. Jefferson County Public Health offers bacteria and nitrate kits to county well owners at no charge while supplies last, and CDPHE runs a PFAS testing program for private wells. Use those first if they answer your question.

It depends on the panel. A basic bacteria and nitrate test costs far less than a full design panel with metals, uranium and PFAS, and some counties offer basic kits at no charge. Our in-home test of hardness, total chlorine and TDS is part of the visit; a certified lab panel is a separate cost, credited toward an install if you go ahead. It is worth paying for when the question cannot be answered at the tap: lead, PFAS, bacteria, nitrate, arsenic or uranium, and for every private well.

It is a good starting point and we always read it. But it reports the system, not your house. Hardness varies by treatment plant and season, and lead comes from your own service line and plumbing, which no district report can measure for you.

You can collect the sample yourself, and for a basic bacteria test that is how most kits work. The result depends on technique: sterile bottles, the right tap, and getting the sample to the lab within its holding time. Hardware-store strips are a rough screen, not a certified result.

A hardness test strip gives you a rough number in a minute. Scale on fixtures and spots on glasses suggest hard water but don't measure it. Your utility's water quality report gives the average, and our in-home test measures your own tap by titration.