Whole-home carbon filtration
Most Front Range utilities disinfect with chlorine or chloramine. Whole-home catalytic carbon takes it out before it reaches any tap or shower.
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Hard water
Water softener installation in the Denver metro
A water softener removes the calcium and magnesium that leave scale. We test your hardness first, write down the target, and retest after the install.
Hard water·What changes
What a softener fixes
- Crust on every faucet — Scale builds up on fixtures, shower heads and glass doors.
- Spots on the dishes — Hard water leaves film and spots on glasses out of the dishwasher.
- Dry skin and dull hair — Soap rinses cleaner in soft water.
- Water heater buildup — Scale collects in water heaters and appliances over time.
Where we work
Water softener systems across the Denver metro and the Front Range
We install in Denver, Aurora, Thornton, Westminster, Arvada, Broomfield, Lakewood, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Parker, Castle Rock and the surrounding Front Range. Hardness varies enormously across this metro, so we measure at your tap before we size anything. In grains per gallon: Thornton publishes 11.7 average; 8.2 in winter, up to 14.6 in summer; Castle Rock publishes 6.6 to 10.8; Aurora publishes about 8 (136 ppm average); Westminster publishes 7 to 8 (2021 data). Denver Water publishes no number at all, only a classification — which is exactly why we test at your tap rather than quoting a figure at you.
How we size a softener for your house
Sizing is arithmetic, not a sales tier. Grains removed per day equals people times gallons per person per day times your hardness in grains per gallon. A four-person household using about 75 gallons each on 11 grain water is removing roughly 3,300 grains a day, so a 32,000 grain softener regenerates about every eight to ten days with a sensible reserve left over.
That is why we measure your hardness before quoting rather than after. Undersize it and the resin runs out mid-week, so you get hard water at the worst moment. Oversize it and you have paid for capacity that sits idle while water channels through the same paths in the bed.
Flow rate matters as much as capacity. A three-bathroom house that runs two showers and a dishwasher at once needs a valve and tank that pass that flow without a pressure drop you can feel.
Metered, not timed, and why that matters in Colorado
A timer softener regenerates on a schedule whether or not you used the capacity. A metered valve counts actual gallons and regenerates only when the resin is genuinely spent. In a state that watches its water, that shows up as fewer cycles, less salt and less water down the drain.
We install on an open-platform metered valve for a second reason: serviceability. Seals, pistons and brine valves are standard parts any plumber can source and rebuild. A proprietary unit only one dealer can touch puts you in a weak position in year eight.
What a softener does not do
It does not remove chlorine or chloramine. Most of the Denver metro disinfects with chloramine, which is why our complete systems put catalytic carbon before the softener, both for taste and to protect the resin.
It does not remove lead, PFAS, nitrate or bacteria. Those are drinking water questions, answered by reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink and a certified lab test.
It does not soften water it never sees. We usually leave one cold tap unsoftened for drinking and cooking, or pair the softener with an RO faucet, so the sodium that ion exchange adds is not in your glass.
What's included
What a water softener systems install includes
Every install includes the licensed plumber, the before test and the after test. We quote once we've measured, because the reading decides the size.
- Metered softener with bypass valve
- Brine tank and first salt fill
- Before and after test
- Licensed plumber install
- Hit the target, or your money back
The number we have to hit
Hardness under 1 grain per gallon, guaranteed. Agreed in writing before we install, measured the same way afterwards.
We'll tell you if you don't need it
We don't sell softeners into Boulder, Longmont or Fort Collins city water. It's already soft, so the hardness number wouldn't change. If the taste or smell bothers you there, look at whole-home carbon or drinking-water RO.
On city water in Boulder, Longmont, Fort Collins, we don't sell softeners at all. Longmont's own report says a water softener is not recommended there, and we agree.
Frequently asked·Water softener systems
Questions about water softener systems
Will I lose water pressure?
A system sized for your home and your flow shouldn't cause a pressure drop you notice. That's why we size tanks to your bathrooms and household, not to a sales sheet. Tell us if pressure is already an issue and we'll check it during the test.
Do I need a softener in Boulder, Longmont or Fort Collins?
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.
Why does carbon go before the softener?
Chlorine and chloramine are hard on softener resin. Putting catalytic carbon first protects the resin and gives every tap chlorine-free water.
Other services
Everything else we install
Reverse osmosis drinking water
Reverse osmosis under the kitchen sink gives you drinking and cooking water from its own faucet. We measure the difference in writing.
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Well water treatment systems
Every well is different, so we start with a certified lab test. The result tells us what to build and sets the targets we have to hit.
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Certified lab water testing
Some things can't be measured at the tap. A certified lab test answers questions about lead, PFAS, bacteria and wells, and the cost is credited toward an install.
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Start with the test
We measure at your tap before we quote anything. You keep the readings, whether or not you buy a water softener systems from us.