These are the questions San Diego homeowners ask before they get a softener, a filter or reverse osmosis, answered from the City of San Diego’s own figures and published standards. If yours is not here, send it through the contact page.
Water Softener San Diego is an independent referral service, not an installer, plumber or equipment seller. When you send the form, your details are passed to an independent local water treatment pro, who can contact you and prepare a quote.
Why there are no prices here
Several of the questions people search are about cost. This site prints no prices, because only a pro who has seen your home and tested your water can prepare a quote. What it can tell you is what moves a quote: the size of the softener for your hardness and household, whether a softener loop exists or new piping is needed, the drain and outlet, the permit, removing an old unit, and any filter or RO added. Ask for each of those as a line on the quote.
Have a question about your own water? Send the form and a local pro can contact you.
Questions people ask
Is San Diego water hard or soft?
Hard. The City of San Diego says its drinking water typically averages about 16 grains per gallon (276 ppm), ranging from 16 to 18 grains per gallon by demand and area. On the USGS scale, over 180 mg/L is very hard.
Does that figure apply to my home?
It is the city’s figure for City of San Diego Public Utilities customers. If your bill comes from another provider, as in Chula Vista, La Mesa, El Cajon or Poway, read that provider’s annual water quality report. See the areas page.
Do I need a water softener?
Only if the hardness bothers you: spots, scale, soap scum and soap that will not lather. Water utilities commonly say hard water is not a health risk, so it is a choice about cleaning and fixtures.
Is it healthier to drink hard water or softened water?
This site makes no health claims. Utilities say hard water is not a health risk, and EPA’s secondary standards for taste, color and odor do not list hardness at all. A softener adds some sodium; on a sodium-restricted diet, ask your doctor.
How does a water softener work?
Water passes through a resin that holds calcium and magnesium and releases sodium in their place. When the resin is full, the softener rinses it with brine from the salt tank and sends the rinse to a drain. NSF/ANSI 44 is the standard for residential softeners of this kind.
Do I need a permit to install a water softener in San Diego?
The City of San Diego lists water softener installations among minor installations that can get a Simple No-Plan Plumbing/Gas Permit, for properties that are not historically designated. Ask the installer which permit applies and who pulls it. Other cities set their own rules.
Do I need a plumber to install a water softener?
The job means working on the main water line, a drain and power, and the city’s permit applies. Ask whoever you hire which permit they will pull. See water softener installation.
What size softener does a 2,000 square foot house need?
Floor area is not what sets the size. Hardness in grains per gallon times daily water use does, along with how often it should regenerate. A test at your tap and your household’s water use are the inputs.
Salt or salt-free?
A salt softener removes the hardness by ion exchange and is covered by NSF/ANSI 44. A salt-free conditioner is a different technology from ion exchange: ask the installer what it is certified for, and whether the water will still test hard.
What are the downsides of a water softener?
It adds some sodium to the water, it uses salt and water when it regenerates, and water utilities commonly note that some softening systems can increase the corrosivity of the water, which can damage a water heater’s anode. Ask the installer about each.
Does a softener filter drinking water?
No. It removes hardness. For drinking water, look at a filter or reverse osmosis certified to NSF/ANSI 58.
How does reverse osmosis work?
EPA describes it as pressure forcing water through a semi-permeable membrane, making treated water and reject water. A point-of-use system sits under the kitchen sink. EPA says a typical unit sends five gallons or more to the drain per gallon treated; WaterSense labeled units, 2.3 or less.
Whole house water filter or water softener?
They do different jobs. A softener removes hardness; a whole-house filter reduces what it is certified for, such as chlorine taste and odor under NSF/ANSI 42. The two can be fitted together. See whole house water filter.
Should the filter go before or after the softener?
It depends on what each part is meant to do. The installer sets the order from your water test and the makers’ instructions.
Is San Diego tap water safe to drink?
This site makes no safety claim of its own. Read the City of San Diego’s annual Drinking Water Quality Report, issued by July 1 for the previous year. See San Diego tap water.
Is a water softener worth repairing?
It can be when one part has failed and parts for the model are available. See water softener repair for what to check first.
What does a water treatment plan look like?
A test first, then one piece of equipment per problem: a softener for hardness, a filter for taste or a contaminant, RO for drinking water. See water treatment and water filtration.
Who runs this site?
Water Softener San Diego is an independent referral service, not an installer, plumber or equipment seller. When you send the form, your details are passed to an independent local water treatment pro, who can contact you and prepare a quote.
Does it cost anything to ask?
No. Asking is free and you never have to hire anyone.
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