Signs you could benefit
- White crust on showerheads, faucets and kettles
- Spots on dishes and glassware
- Soap and shampoo that lather poorly
- Frequent descaling of a tankless heater
Our guide to hard water signs explains these clues.
How we do the work
- Test hardness at a tap to set the softener correctly.
- Choose a location near the main shut-off, with a drain and a power outlet.
- Fit a three-valve bypass for isolating the unit.
- Run the regeneration drain to an open air gap.
- Leave an unsoftened tap, if desired, for drinking water.
- Program and test the regeneration cycle.
Salt and diet. Softened water contains added sodium. Households watching sodium intake may keep a cold tap unsoftened or use potassium chloride.
Mississauga homes and this job
Mississauga's water, drawn from Lake Ontario by the Region of Peel, is considered moderately hard. Some households are content with it, while others prefer softening to protect fixtures. Homes with tankless water heaters often benefit most.
What affects the cost
- Softener capacity and type
- Plumbing changes at the main
- Adding a drinking-water filter
Filtration and softening often pair; see water filtration systems. If a running toilet is wasting softened water, see fixing a running toilet. In a crisis, our emergency service is available.
The job, tool by tool
Tools on the truck for water treatment
- Hardness test strips
- Measuring what comes out of the tap
- Bypass valve assembly
- Letting you isolate the softener or filter
- Drain line and air gap
- Discharging regeneration water legally
- Cartridge housings and wrench
- Swapping filter elements
On every job
- Drop cloths down before any tool comes out
- Water or fuel shut and tagged while we work
- Every joint we made checked dry before we pack up
- Old parts shown to you, then hauled away
A call-out, start to finish
- 1Call and describe the fixture, floor and symptom
- 2We arrive, lay drop cloths and shut the water where needed
- 3Trap pulled, line cabled or camera run to find the cause
- 4Fix explained, then cut, joined or replaced
- 5Water run through, joints checked, written note left
Answers our Mississauga crew gives most
Is softened water safe to drink?
Generally yes, though it contains added sodium. Some prefer a separate drinking tap.
How often is salt added?
That varies with consumption and the size of the unit. Look into the brine tank monthly until you learn its rhythm.
Will a softener remove chlorine?
No. That requires carbon filtration.