Questions · Water treatment
Softener, filter or reverse osmosis?
They answer different questions. A softener protects the plumbing, the heater and the fixtures from hardness. A whole house filter deals with what is in the water everywhere, such as sediment or chlorine taste. Reverse osmosis makes drinking water at one faucet. Many Valley houses end up with a softener plus a small drinking system.
What each one is for
- Softener: removes the hardness mineral, so scale stops forming in the heater and on fixtures
- Whole house filter: treats sediment, taste or odor for every faucet in the house
- Reverse osmosis: a small system at one sink that produces drinking and cooking water
- Softener loop: not equipment at all, just the plumbing a builder left in the garage so a softener can be installed later
How Valley houses usually end up
The common pairing here is a softener for the plumbing and a reverse osmosis unit under the kitchen sink for drinking water. The softener saves the heater and the fixtures; the under sink system handles the glass of water.
A whole house filter joins them when there is a specific complaint about what is coming out of every faucet, rather than a general wish for better water.
Which one answers your complaint
| What you are noticing | What usually answers it |
|---|---|
| Scale on glass, fixtures and inside the heater | A softener |
| Drinking water that you would rather not drink | Reverse osmosis at the sink |
| Taste or smell at every faucet in the house | A whole house filter |
| Grit or sediment showing up in aerators | A whole house sediment filter |
| A heater that failed early, in a house with no treatment | A softener, before the next heater |
From the job log
Work we’ve done
Answers
Do I need both a softener and reverse osmosis?
Only if you want both jobs done. The softener is about protecting the house. Reverse osmosis is about what you drink. Plenty of people want one and not the other.
Will a whole house filter soften the water?
Not unless it is specifically a softening system. A sediment or carbon filter leaves hardness exactly where it was.
Can these be installed together?
Yes, and the order matters. We look at the loop, the drain and the space available at the house before saying how it should be laid out.
If you need this done
- Water softenersValley water is some of the hardest in the country. A softener removes the minerals that scale fixtures, spot glass and shorten a water heater's life.
- Whole-home water filtrationCuts sediment, chlorine and taste at every faucet, installed with a bypass so it's easy to service.
- Reverse osmosisAn under-sink system for cleaner, better-tasting drinking water, installed neatly with the faucet and drain done properly.
- Where we workEvery town and ZIP across the Valley we cover.
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