Water Softener Installation

Do you need a water softener? In much of the Aubrey area, probably not

Most softener pages assume your water is hard. In and around Aubrey, it usually is not, and we would rather say that up front than install equipment that has nothing to fix. Vor-Tex Plumbing Co. installs water softeners for Denton County homes where the water really does carry a lot of minerals. Call (469) 552-2881 and we will help you work out which side of that line your address is on.

Signs of hard water

• White, chalky scale on faucets, showerheads, and the heating element or tank floor of your water heater.
• Spots on glasses and dishes after the dishwasher runs, even with rinse aid.
• A film of soap scum on tubs and shower doors, and soap that is slow to lather.
• Aerators and showerheads that clog and lose flow.
• A water heater that pops or rumbles as scale and sediment collect.

How hardness is measured

Hardness is the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water. It is reported either in parts per million (ppm) or in grains per gallon, where one grain per gallon is about 17 ppm. These are the commonly used ranges.

What a softener does, and what it does not

A salt-based softener passes water through a tank of resin beads that trap calcium and magnesium and release sodium in their place. When the beads are full, the unit flushes itself with a salt brine and sends that brine to a drain. You add salt now and then. Softened water means less scale on fixtures and in the water heater, and soap that lathers more easily.

A softener is not a filter. It does not remove chlorine, chloramine, bacteria, PFAS, or most other contaminants. For those, see water filtration and treatment, reverse osmosis, and whole-home PFAS filtration. Because a salt softener adds sodium, households that watch sodium intake should factor that in.

Where softeners help, and where they do not

The City of Aubrey’s 2024 water quality report lists total hardness at 5 ppm, well inside the soft range, and Mustang SUD’s 2024 report, which covers parts of Krugerville, Cross Roads, and Oak Point, shows about 6 ppm. On that water a softener has almost nothing to remove, and it would only add salt and sodium. Little Elm is different: the Town’s water quality report lists 96 to 200 ppm, which is moderately hard to very hard, and a softener can make sense there. Always check the report for your own supplier, or have the water tested, before you buy. We will do the same before we quote.

What the installation involves

• Location. The unit goes where the main water line enters the house, often a garage or utility space, so it treats hot and cold water for the whole home. Outdoor hose bibs are commonly kept on untreated water.
• Connections. A bypass valve, supply and return piping, and a drain line with an air gap for the brine discharge.
• Power. The control head runs on a small plug-in transformer, so we need an outlet nearby.
• Sizing. We size the unit to your hardness and how many people live in the house, so it does not regenerate more than it has to.

When to call

This is not an emergency repair. Call when scale is building up and your water report or test shows hard water, when you are replacing a water heater that has been choked with scale, or when you are not sure whether you need one. If you have no hardness reading, we start with a water quality test.

What a softener visit looks like

1. You call, and tell us what you are seeing.
2. We check hardness and the install location, and quote on site. The $79 dispatch fee covers the visit and is applied toward the work when you approve it. If your water is already soft, we tell you so.
3. We install the system and show you how to fill the salt, set the controls, and use the bypass.
4. Warranty. Parts and labor carry a 5-year warranty when we supply the parts.

Typical price ranges are in the water softener installation cost guide.

Related

All treatment options are listed under water quality and filtration. Scale is also a reason to look at water heater maintenance.