Does Your Home Have Hard Water? Here's What to Know About Water Softeners...

First off, a water softener, which might live in a basement or garage and occupies roughly the same amount of space as a small water heater, doesn’t clean your water. It swaps out the minerals that make water hard (magnesium and calcium), by running the water through a tank filled with resin beads.

Not all water needs fixing. Whether a softener is worthwhile depends on how hard your water is, how it’s affecting your home, and what you’re hoping to improve. A good plumber or water treatment specialist can help assess your needs. But keep in mind, most installers have a product to sell. 

“I don’t recommend treating your water in an information vacuum,” says Bear. In other words, take the time to do some research, and don’t let a pushy salesperson (or soap-scum frustration) send you running to buy equipment. 

If you’re on a public water system, look up your utility’s Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), which community water systems are required to make available to their customers annually. Most utilities post it online or send it by mail. Not all CCRs list water hardness, but yours might, especially in regions where mineral levels are high. 

What you’re looking for is your water’s hardness. As mentioned above, this is usually measured in milligrams per liter (mg/L) of calcium carbonate. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, anything above 180 mg/L is considered very hard. These values are commonly translated into grains per gallon (GPG) by softener manufacturers and water tests, using the following rough scale:

• 0 to 3.5 GPG = soft water
• 3.5 to 7 GPG = moderately hard water
• 7 to 10.5 GPG = hard water
• 10.5+ GPG = very hard water

If you’re on a private well or you want more detailed info, you can have your water tested by a certified lab. Most states list approved labs online—or you can check with your county extension office. The EPA hosts a list of labs certified by state. You can also try a home kit or ask a swimming pool store to run a quick in-house test; just know that “dip strips” may only give a rough range.

According to Bear, if your water is past about 10 GPG, softening is worth serious consideration. Below that, it depends. “You might not have technically hard water, but if you’re seeing buildup, dingy laundry, or appliance or skin issues, you can treat it,” Bear says. There’s no universal threshold.

Still not sure? This is a good time to call in a pro. A quick consult can help make sense of your test results and steer you toward (or away from) a softener.

The typical setup is a salt-based ion exchange softener. It generally consists of a tall tank, which holds the resin beads charged with sodium ions, and a smaller tank for salt storage (also known as a brine tank). As mentioned above, when hard water flows through the resin tank, the beads swap sodium ions for calcium and magnesium ions (the minerals responsible for scale and buildup). 

When the beads need to be recharged—typically every few days—the system flushes itself with salty water from the brine tank and dumps the waste into a drain. This regeneration cycle happens automatically, based on your household’s water use.

These systems are usually installed where water enters the home, just past the main shutoff valve, but ahead of where water branches off to the fixtures. In areas with colder climates, they’re tucked into basements or utility rooms. In Texas, you might see them in garages or side yards, according to Anthony Karas, owner of Austin Water Solutions.

Most setups bypass outdoor faucets and sprinkler systems, so you’re not watering gardens and lawns with softened water, as the residual sodium can be tough on soil and root systems, says Jones. Some homeowners choose to soften only the hot water lines; this reduces salt use and also keeps softened water from the cold kitchen tap.

Salt-based softeners flush chloride into the sewer system. In drought-prone areas where graywater is recycled, this added salt can disrupt soil and harm plants. As mentioned above, to reduce impact, installers might place softeners after the main shutoff and before indoor plumbing branches, so outdoor spigots and sprinkler lines bypass the system.

In some areas of California and Texas, salt-based softeners are restricted or banned. One common workaround is to use an exchange tank service. These systems work like regular softeners but are swapped out and regenerated offsite.

Regulations vary, so check with your local utility or water authority before installing a system.

With normal maintenance, most softeners should run well for 10 to 15 years.

But these systems aren’t exactly plug-and-play. A softener needs a proper setup and a bit of ongoing attention. “You need electricity, and a drain to let [the system] backwash…The other thing is making sure that it’s sized correctly,” says Jones.