If you live in Los Angeles County, you most likely have hard water. Hard water may not be obvious to spot at first, but one common way is dry skin and hair. If that sounds like your home’s water, then water treatment is an easy solution.
We’ve dealt with the hard water of Los Angeles for over 15 years and can tell you that it’s no friend of yours. Water treatment is almost a necessity for homeowners with tankless water heaters to prevent breakdowns, but it can also improve your quality of life and protect your plumbing and fixtures for those who don’t have a tankless water heater.
In this article, we’ll touch on each type of water treatment, and their respective installation costs so you can better understand what treatment suits your home best. Knowing is half the battle, so let’s dive in with the cheapest form of water treatment around.
Types of Water Treatment
Point-of-Use
Point-of-use water filters are almost self-descriptive. This type of water filtration is installed at a singular point in a home. So, if you want treated water in your kitchen, you’d need to have one installed beneath your sink.
It’s important to note that a point-of-use filter will not protect multiple fixtures in your home. For instance, if you have one installed in the shower, it won’t provide any benefit to your kitchen sink. If you have a refrigerator with a water dispenser, you’ve likely seen one of these point-of-use filters before.
Some point-of-use filters will protect against hard water. If you’re using something like a Brita, then you’ll only get protection against contaminants. But filters like the ScaleRX can guard fixtures against hard water as well.
Point-of-use filters cost about $300 to $600, making them the most affordable option on the list.
Whole-House Carbon Filter
A whole-house carbon filter protects your entire home against harsh chemicals like chlorine. With a whole-house carbon filter, you won’t get soft water like other options on the list, but you’ll get better-tasting water without any chemical residue.
As an added benefit, whole-house carbon filters’ ability to remove chlorine from the equation means your plumbing is protected from the corrosive damage it may cause over time. You can also say goodbye to single-use plastic water bottles since your drinking water quality will be greatly improved.
Whole-house carbon filters run between $800 to $2,000 before installation and $4,800 to $7,200 with installation.
Whole-House Water Softener
You can think of a whole-house water softener as the opposite of a whole-house carbon filter. Whole-house water softeners combat hard water to give you soft water, but they don’t filter out harsh chemicals like chlorine.
Instead, a whole-house water softener protects your entire home’s plumbing from scale buildup. You’ll be able to see these effects directly in the form of cleaner silverware and plates, as well as softer skin and nails.
If you’re looking to install a whole-house water softener, you can bank on the softener itself costing $1,200 to $2,500 and $5,200 to $7,600 after installation.
Flow-Tech
This is where we start to drift away from standard water treatment into more specific solutions. Unlike the other whole-house treatments, Flow-Tech doesn’t use a physical filter. Instead, Flow-Tech sends out low-frequency electromagnetic signals thousands of times per second. These signals run throughout your plumbing system and dissolve minerals in your water.
There are a couple of upsides to running a Flow-Tech. The main benefit is that a Flow-Tech is much smaller than a whole-house carbon filter or water softener. Another big one is that there’s no maintenance on the Flow-Tech once it’s installed.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to buy a Flow-Tech on your own and must go through a licensed dealer. Because of this caveat, you’re looking at an installation cost of about $2,800 to $3,200.
Reverse Osmosis System
Reverse osmosis systems are somewhat related to point-of-use filters because they only cover a single point of use. This multi-stage treatment system contains three to five filtration stages. Each system contains one or more sediment and carbon filters and a semi-permeable membrane.
Sediment filters remove dirt, dust, and rust. Carbon filters remove volatile organic compounds, chlorine, and more. Lastly, the semi-permeable membrane removes up to 98% of dissolved solids. Filtered water is moved to the storage tank, where it stays until the tap is turned and the water passes through a final postfilter.
You can pick up a reverse osmosis system for between $400 to $1,200. After installation, your total cost would be around $1,600 to $3,200.
Which Water Treatment Suits Your Home Best?
Now you’re up to speed on all sorts of water treatment types and know what they’ll cost you both on their own and fully installed. You’ll also have a better idea of what to expect when you call to schedule a consultation and avoid sticker shock.
Water treatment may not be necessary for all homeowners, but in Los Angeles County, practically all of us have hard water and could benefit from one. If you’re looking to protect your home's plumbing and have cleaner, better-tasting drinking water, then water treatment is for you.
Call us at 310-853-8690 or visit our water filtration page to learn a bit more about hard water and water treatment or to schedule a consultation.
If you’re still unclear about what hard water is, then maybe it’s time to brush up so you’re on the same page when you call for a consultation. You might also think that all of this is too good to be true, and you’re partially right! It’s always worth knowing the problems associated with water treatment before diving in head first.
