How a softener goes into a Delafield well home
In Delafield, where most homes are on private wells, there is usually no published number to start from. That makes the reading at your tap, taken before anything is connected, the most important part of install day.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmReading the water first
Install day opens with a hardness reading at your tap, taken before a single pipe is touched. On a well, that reading, together with any lab report you shared on the call, is what sets the softener. On city water, the DNR's 14.0 and 23.4 grains show the range to expect.
Why Delafield starts with your tap
The city's two wells read 240 and 400 mg/L on the same sampling day. Private wells on the same road can differ just as much, so nothing gets set from a neighbor's number or an old report.
Old unit out, new tanks in
If a softener is already there, the plumber takes it out first. The two new tanks then go where the supply line reaches the house, in whichever room that line enters, be it basement, garage or utility room, with power and a drain within reach.
Next the bypass is connected, the drain line ends with an air gap over the drain it empties into, and the reverse-osmosis faucet is mounted by the kitchen sink.
A drain hookup Wisconsin calls plumbing
Wis. Stat. ch. 145 is Wisconsin's plumbing chapter, and the state treats a softener's drain hookup and its air gap as plumbing. So a plumbing contractor who is licensed in Wisconsin does the installation, while we handle the quoting, sizing and supplying and set up the visit.
Zero at your tap, whatever the well started at
When everything is connected, the plumber tests again at your tap and keeps testing until hardness reads zero. Whatever the starting number, 14 grains, 23 or something else from your own well, the finish line is the same: zero.
The visit covers the softener, not your well
Softener, brine tank, bypass, the air-gapped drain line, the reverse-osmosis faucet at the sink, plus the before and after tests. Your well and the equipment that serves it are not part of the job.
Common questions
Is install day any different on a well?
Same steps. What changes is where the starting number comes from: on a well, your tap and your lab report instead of a utility's sample.
Is the reverse-osmosis faucet part of every installation?
Yes. It comes with each whole-home softener and goes in by the kitchen sink on the same visit. It is not sold by itself.
Who is the plumber?
A plumbing contractor who is licensed in Wisconsin. We arrange the visit after you agree to the price on the phone.