Water Softeners
San Antonio water runs 15 to 20 grains per gallon. That is not a marketing line — it is the number SAWS publishes, and it puts the city firmly in the "very hard" band.
What hard water is actually doing
Hardness is dissolved calcium and magnesium. At 15–20 grains per gallon those minerals come out of solution wherever water sits or heats up — inside the water heater first, then in fixture cartridges, dishwasher elements and the aerators on every faucet. The visible symptoms are spotting, film on glass, and soap that will not lather. The expensive symptom is a water heater working through a layer of scale for years before it fails early.
Sizing is not one-size-fits-all
A softener is sized from two numbers: the hardness of your water and how much of it your household uses. Get either wrong and the system either regenerates constantly or never keeps up. Outside the SAWS footprint this matters even more — Boerne water ranges from 111 to 321.6 ppm depending on where you live, and Alamo Heights, Schertz, New Braunfels, Converse, Leon Valley and Universal City do not publish a hardness figure at all. That is why we would rather test at your tap than quote from a city average.
Salt-based, salt-free, or filtration
A conventional ion-exchange softener genuinely removes hardness minerals and is the right answer for most San Antonio homes. Salt-free conditioners do not remove them — they change how the minerals behave so they are less likely to form scale, which suits households that want no salt and no discharge. Filtration is a separate question from hardness and deals with taste, chlorine and sediment. We will tell you which of these your water actually needs, including when the answer is "none of them".
What this covers
- Whole-home softener sizing and installation
- Salt-based and salt-free system options
- Carbon and sediment filtration
- Reverse osmosis drinking water systems
- Softener repair, resin replacement and valve service
- Annual service and salt-level checks
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Common questions
Water Softeners — questions we get
How hard is San Antonio water?
SAWS publishes a typical range of 15 to 20 grains per gallon, which is about 257–342 ppm — "very hard" on the USGS scale. Surrounding cities on their own utilities vary: Boerne reports an average of 168 ppm with a range of 111 to 321.6, and several others publish no figure at all.
Will a water softener fix the spots on my glasses?
Usually, yes — spotting and film are classic hardness symptoms and a properly sized softener removes the minerals causing them. If spotting continues afterwards, the cause is normally the dishwasher's rinse cycle or its own settings rather than the water.
How long does a softener last?
A quality system runs a long time with basic upkeep, and the parts that wear — the control valve and eventually the resin — are serviceable rather than a reason to replace the whole unit. Builder-installed systems in 2000s subdivisions are frequently the ones we find no longer regenerating properly.
Do you install reverse osmosis too?
Yes. Softening and drinking-water filtration solve different problems, and plenty of homes want both — a whole-home softener to protect the plumbing and appliances, and an under-sink RO system for drinking and cooking water.
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