How Much Does Water Softener Installation Cost

How Much Does a Water Softener System Cost to Install?

Water softeners work wonders for dry pare and hair—not to mention your dwelling's plumbing organisation. The average h2o softener system price is $1,500, only it could range between $500 and $6,000.

Water Softener System Cost

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Typical Range: $500 to $6,000
National Average: $ane,500

You don't often consider annihilation about the water in your house other than if it's running and it's the correct temperature. What you might not know is that most household water is considered hard h2o, which ways it's full of minerals that leave behind scummy residue and mineral deposits. Over time, these mineral deposits can clog pipes and reduce the water flow. You may also notice you feel quite dry subsequently getting out of the shower due to the hard h2o minerals building upward on your peel and hair.

Fortunately, in that location is a simple solution to eliminating hard h2o challenges: water softener systems. These handy units can neutralize or eliminate the heavy minerals from the water. H2o softeners come in various configurations based on their method of mineral removal and the quantity of water that needs to be treated. A water softener arrangement price ranges betwixt $500 and $6,000, merely the average cost is $ane,500. The type of water softener yous choose has the virtually significant impact on the price y'all pay. Additionally, the size of the house or plumbing arrangement that's being treated as well affects the price since a organisation for an RV won't demand to exist as powerful or complex as one for a two,500-square-pes house. You tin can find most h2o softener systems at local hardware stores, merely you'll want to accept a professional person install them since they will integrate with your abode'southward plumbing.

Need a water softener arrangement?

A pro tin can install it for you. Get free, no-delivery projection estimates from experts near you.

Factors in Computing H2o Softener Arrangement Cost

Equally yous decide on the all-time water softener, you'll want to consult with a pro to make sure y'all choose a system that has the capacity that's suitable for your house's size and the number of inhabitants. These factors, plus the type of system and the installation cost, will primarily determine h2o softener arrangement costs.

Water Softener System Cost Factors in Calculating the Cost

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Type and Capacity of System

There are five effective water softeners: ion exchangers that utilize salt and brine, water distiller, salt-free, reverse osmosis, and magnetic. The type and chapters you lot choose will largely determine the price yous pay. The larger the capacity, the more water will be treated, which ways it volition cost more.

Size of Dwelling

A larger firm that has several bathrooms requires more plumbing than an apartment. To adequately treat enough water for daily use, you'll need to gauge the capacity based on grains per gallon. The grain chapters is how much mineral content can be removed. Employ the following steps to summate the size of the system yous demand:

Multiply the number of people in your home by 90, which is the average number of gallons used per person per mean solar day.
Multiply the issue from higher up by the hardness of your h2o every bit listed by your local municipality. (The average is 10 grains per twenty-four hour period, but it can range from 0 to 17.)

For example: 3 people 10 ninety = 270. Multiplying 270 by 10 equals ii,700 grains per twenty-four hour period. This number falls betwixt the average of 0 to iii,500 grains per gallon, and so you would need a water softener with at least 24,000-grain capacity, according to HomeAdvisor. On boilerplate, a 32,000-grain h2o softener tin can work for a household of up to five people.

Need a h2o softener system?

A pro can install it for yous. Get free, no-commitment project estimates from experts well-nigh y'all.

Part of Home Served

If the idea of installing an entire water softener system is daunting, then you might like the thought of installing a small under-the-counter unit for specific rooms where you want soft water. This is a standard option for kitchens or bathrooms. These simpler units often cost around $100 and can be installed in approximately xxx minutes.

Labor and Installation

For traditional, whole-house water softener systems, labor rates typically run betwixt $150 and $600 for installation. The price could go even college if the installation is complex and new pipes need to be run to business relationship for the new system.

Region

Where you live affects the full cost you pay for about installation projects. Urban areas tend to take higher labor and material rates since there'due south a college price of living and more need than in rural areas. The specific region you alive in may also bear on the hardness of your water—places like Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Antonio, and Tampa have higher mineral content than many other cities. You'll need to choose a organisation that works all-time for the mineral content in your region.

Boosted Costs and Considerations

Bated from the upward-front organisation cost and labor fees, a few more considerations bear on how much water softener systems price. Yous'll need to have water testing done and pay for maintenance on the unit after it'southward installed. Additionally, the installer may demand to add electrical or plumbing features to make sure it works properly.

Maintenance

Water softener systems are complex units that utilize many parts to continue the system working correctly and safely. They require regular maintenance to make sure the water is beingness treated correctly. The brine tank needs to be checked every three to four months to forestall salt buildup if you lot have a saltwater system. A water softener technician will also furnish the salt or potassium as needed. Annual maintenance usually costs $100 to $300 to inspect, affluent, and replenish the unit of measurement.

H2o Tests

You need to know the current state of your h2o content to know which water softener system is best for your house. Some local municipalities tin can provide a recent water test, or you can rent a h2o treatment specialist to perform a test on-site. If yous're on a well, exist sure to get a test that measures pH, hardness, and iron content. Well exam kits cost around $10 to $50.

Electrical and Plumbing

A h2o softener system for the whole business firm needs to be installed near the h2o main. If this area is not easily attainable or you accept to trench a new plumbing line, your installation costs will quickly rise. Yous'll also need to accept admission to electricity to run the system. If in that location is no power nearby, it will cost more than for an electrician to reroute and run power to the unit.

Need a water softener system?

A pro tin install it for you. Get free, no-delivery project estimates from experts near you.

General Contractor

Most water softener installations exercise not require the oversight of a general contractor. Nonetheless, if there is structural work that needs to happen to get the correct plumbing and electricity installed, and then you may need to rent ane. You'll likely pay an additional 15 to 23 pct for a general contractor.

Permits and Inspections

A major installation may require a permit or inspection from your local government. Check with the installers to come across if your project will crave a let.

Water Softener System Cost Types

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Water Softener System Price: Types of H2o Softener Systems

Once you've identified your water usage and h2o hardness, you lot tin can narrow downwardly the type of water softener yous desire to install. Some water softeners piece of work amend for septic systems, and others are best for high-employ households. Here is the breakdown of the cost per system.

Ion Exchangers

This is the nearly common and reliable blazon of water softener. Water passes through the mineral tank, where calcium and magnesium exchange ions as they are attracted to plastic or resin beads. The beads laissez passer into the brine tank that'south filled with common salt that washes abroad the difficult minerals and restores the chaplet. This manner typically costs $500 to $2,000 for the unit of measurement and full installation toll, but these require regular table salt refills, which is an ongoing maintenance price.

H2o Distiller

A water distiller is a less common organization that separates water from heavy metals and minerals by creating water vapor just earlier the boiling bespeak. Since it works without filters or mineral tanks, it doesn't finer remove all chemicals from the h2o. Water distillers besides work more than slowly, making them a amend pick for drinking water than a whole house arrangement. Information technology costs $50 to $2,000 to install a water distiller organization.

Salt-Free

A table salt-free water softener or conditioner works similarly to an ion substitution system, but information technology uses potassium instead of sodium or salt. This neutralizes the minerals and suspends them in the tank rather than removing them. Potassium is gentler on septic tank systems and may also be safer for people on a depression-sodium diet. You'll pay between $800 and $iv,000 to install a common salt-free water softener.

Reverse Osmosis

If y'all prefer to focus on removing all minerals, chemicals, toxins, and heavy metals from your water, then a reverse osmosis system is one to look at. For $1,000 to $ii,800 for the unit and installation, they handle mineral removal plus total water filtration for purified h2o that's much safer than regular tap water. You can have one installed under a kitchen sink or for the whole firm, and they can work in tandem with other water softener components.

Need a h2o softener organization?

A pro can install it for you. Become costless, no-commitment project estimates from experts near yous.

Magnetic

An upwards-and-coming pick that'south nonetheless somewhat unproven is the magnetic h2o softener. You adhere an electric device to your existing plumbing, and magnets create an energy field that reverses the mineral ions to foreclose buildup. Users land this arrangement works well, though in that location aren't many studies to back up the claims. Yet, they only cost betwixt $200 and $600 to install.

Signs You Need a Water Softener System

Do you see stubborn, unattractive stains around the drains in your business firm? Hard water is probably the culprit. It'south besides the reason why your white laundry seems to grow dingy, your pilus and pare feel dry out all the time, and the utility bill has risen lately. Take a await at these top reasons why y'all need a water softener system.

Water Examination Results

If you have whatsoever suspicions about how hard your water content is, you can buy a DIY water testing kit from a local hardware store. The measure you're looking for is milligrams per liter of dissolved calcium carbonate. Anything between 0 and 60 mg/L is considered soft, 61 to 120 mg/Fifty is moderately difficult, 121 to 180 mg/L is difficult, and more than 180 mg/50 is very hard. Results above 121 strongly betoken that a water softener system is needed to protect the pipes from mineral buildup.

Staining

As water slowly recedes down a drain, any remaining puddles volition somewhen evaporate and exit backside minerals. These minerals are stubborn stains that can become almost as difficult as rocks. A water softener prevents these minerals from coming out of the faucets, and then you won't have to fight these ugly stains anymore.

Need a water softener system?

A pro can install information technology for y'all. Get free, no-commitment projection estimates from experts about you.

Calibration Buildup

This same mineral buildup can also be known as scale or limescale. It can build upwards on shower heads, teapots, glassware, or any other surface that's often wet. That includes inside appliances and especially inside your plumbing organisation. As well much buildup tin can eventually damage the system, causing plush repairs.

Higher Utility Bills

Sometimes your commencement indication of a scale buildup is higher utility bills. If the pipes have lost flow capacity due to mineral deposits, the water may push harder to become through. And if that is heated h2o, and so your boiler or hot water heater won't run as efficiently every bit it tries to continue upwards.

Faded Laundry

The minerals in difficult water interfere with laundry detergents so they can't clean wearing apparel equally effectively. And just as they exit scummy buildup in pipes, they do the same on clothing. This results in fading, graying, roughness, and fifty-fifty foul odors that never seem to wash out.

Dry Pare and Pilus

Hard water is especially hard on your hair and skin. It tin crusade dryness and even itchy, flaky skin on your scalp and trunk. The heaviness of those minerals often causes pilus to become more boring or limp than most people prefer. They tin also preclude soap from dissolving ordinarily, which ways you lot may stop up with residues of soap that didn't wash away the bacteria.

Water Heater Malfunction

The scummy, scaly buildup of minerals in pipes and drains is bound to happen in your water heater every bit well. Hard water oft causes the premature aging of a h2o heating system. Electrical heaters nearly advance the process since the estrus encourages scale buildup.

Water Softener System Cost Benefits

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Benefits of a Water Softener Organization

Improving the water quality in your abode is beneficial for more than simply feeling silky smooth and make clean when you wash your easily or take a shower—though that's a popular reason for many users. It's a cost-constructive way to foreclose long-term problems with your plumbing systems while making your laundry tasks more than effective and your water gustation amend.

Softer Skin and Hair

Your skin and hair prefer not to exist constantly weighed downwardly past an backlog of chemicals and minerals. Hair volition respond improve to the shampoo and conditioner and may appear less dull and limp. With a water softener system, you lot'll experience less dry and itchy skin, which means you might not demand as much lotion.

Demand a water softener system?

A pro can install information technology for you. Get free, no-commitment project estimates from experts near you lot.

Efficient Employ of Cleaning Products

Since lather dissolves and lathers poorly in hard h2o, y'all might discover that you need less soap overall. Whether it'south trunk wash, paw soap, dish soap, or laundry detergent, your cleaning products will have better cleaning and lathering ability in soft water.

Less Calibration Buildup

This is the all-time reason for a water softener system in terms of preventive maintenance. Soft water prevents the e'er-growing calibration and scum of hard water minerals that stick to drains, pipes, appliances, and kitchenware. You won't accept to worry nearly the condition of your pipes or appliances when you have soft water running through your plumbing.

Meliorate-Tasting Water

Many people purchase bottled h2o since information technology oft tastes better than tap water. With a water softener system, you'll discover that your tap water now tastes better than most bottled h2o. It's an added benefit of removing excessive minerals that influence the flavour of h2o.

Water Softener System Cost: DIY vs. Hiring a Professional

Water softener systems don't have to be installed for the unabridged house. If you only take moderately difficult water, then perhaps you'd only like to have a small unit installed under your kitchen sink or in your master bathroom. Some nether-the-counter systems come with DIY installation kits. Merely retrieve there are ever risks when working with your own plumbing systems that could lead to poor, leaky connections, or worse.

For water softener systems designed for an entire house, salvage yourself the risk of damaging the entire plumbing system by hiring a water softener installer. This is crucial (and perhaps required by law) if you discover y'all'll need to add plumbing or electrical work to go the system installed. The last thing y'all want is to accidentally create a water leak that costs more than to ready down the road. A qualified installer will be familiar with the system they're installing and can troubleshoot any problems that may arise during installation.

Need a water softener system?

A pro can install it for you. Become free, no-commitment project estimates from experts near y'all.

How to Relieve Money on a Water Softener System

Information technology might surprise yous to detect that the long-term benefits of a water softener are how you'll salve the most money. Yous'll see reduced cleaning supplies costs, increased appliance lifespan, and even lower free energy bills. Yet, consider these tips if you're looking to save money on the up-front end water softener organization cost.

Accept a professional (or 2) appraise your house to aid you choose the right type and capacity of water softener. Bigger isn't necessarily ameliorate.
Shop around to discover a suitable unit at the right price.
One time you know the all-time water softener system for your house, consider waiting for a vacation sale. The unit may keep sale, or the company could offer costless labor.
Enquire if there are any rebates available from the manufacturer.

Questions to Inquire About Water Softener System Cost

Since water softener systems are a long-term investment, you want to make sure you're getting the right organization installed. As you begin your search for a water softener installer, employ these questions to aid guide the process. E'er starting time past making certain the installer (and any subcontractors they need to rent) are licensed and insured and can provide references upon asking.

How long have you been in business?
Do yous accept water testing kits bachelor?
Do yous offer free, on-site consultations to determine how much piece of work volition be required for installation?
Which h2o softener system is all-time for my plumbing arrangement?
Take you installed a system similar this before?
How much will an under-the-counter arrangement cost to install in my kitchen and bathroom?
How much capacity do y'all recommend for my household?
What if we have guests staying with us? Will nosotros run out of soft water?
Volition nosotros need to install additional plumbing?
How much maintenance volition this system require?
Do you offering a maintenance plan? If so, what's included?
Does this water softener come with a warranty?

Need a water softener system?

A pro tin install it for yous. Get gratis, no-commitment project estimates from experts near you.

FAQs

Water softener systems don't have to exist a mystery. Their benefits and price-effectiveness take a proven history for homeowners who choose to invest in them. If you're still wondering about water softener costs, so consider the answers to these most ofttimes asked questions.

Q: How much should information technology price to take a water softener installed?

Information technology depends on the blazon and capacity of the system yous demand to install. A typical toll range is $1,000 to $two,800, with an average of $1,500. Smaller units that install nether a sink toll less, only if you install a smart system or need pregnant plumbing added, it could cost up to $6,000.

Q: How tin a h2o softener system amend your quality of life?

Homeowners have found they utilise less lather, detergent, and other cleaning products since they piece of work ameliorate without the interference of difficult minerals in the water. Equally a personal do good, your hair and skin will exist less dry and itchy without the calibration buildup of minerals on your skin. And finally, your tap water will taste noticeably improve than before.

Q: Can I install a water softener system in any type of house or apartment?

Yes. You lot can install smaller systems that fit right nether a sink. That way, you benefit from soft h2o correct where you lot need information technology. There are also portable water softener units bachelor that work well for recreational vehicles that have plumbing.

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