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Water softener & filtration installation in Houston, TX
City of Houston water is predominantly surface water and runs chloramine as its residual disinfectant. Hardness is lower than the outlying MUDs but still lands in the hard category, and older neighborhoods like the Heights and Spring Branch add decades of cast-iron and galvanized distribution to the picture.
typical hardness
Reported range 7–12 gpg · scale 0–20
- Supplier
- City of Houston Public Works
- Source
- Lake Houston, Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston surface water, plus groundwater
- Disinfectant
- Chloramine
- Typical range
- 7–12 gpg
- Classification
- Hard
Figures reflect typical published and field-observed ranges for supplies in this area. Your tap is what matters — we measure it free.
$3,500 Installed
Published price. Not a promo, not only good today.
Installation Included
No separate install fee. No maintenance contract.
Lifetime Warranty
Tanks, valves, housings and major components.
TCEQ-Licensed
Installed by licensed hands, as Texas requires.
The local picture
What Houston homeowners actually call us about.
The complaint we hear most often in Houston: Chloramine taste in drinking water and discoloration after main work.
At 7–12 grains per gallon, every load of laundry, every shower and every cycle through the water heater carries dissolved calcium and magnesium that has to go somewhere. It goes onto your fixtures, into your heat exchanger, and onto your skin.
The supply here is lake houston, lake conroe and lake livingston surface water, plus groundwater, delivered through city of houston public works, with chloramine as the residual disinfectant. That combination determines both how we size the softener and how much carbon the system needs.
- Free in-home test at your kitchen tap — about 20 minutes
- System sized to your measured hardness, not a neighborhood average
- Installed by a TCEQ-licensed specialist or licensed plumber
- Flat price in writing, good for 30 days — no same-day pressure
Neighborhoods we serve in Houston
Memorial, Energy Corridor, Bear Creek, Copperfield, Spring Branch, The Heights, West University — plus surrounding Harris County communities.
Not listed? We cover the whole Houston area and travel up to two hours from our Katy shop. Call (435) 881-7380.
What we usually recommend in Houston
In Houston, the complaint is usually taste, not scale.
Houston runs chloramine, and chloramine behaves differently from free chlorine. It holds its residual much further into the distribution system and carbon strips it slowly — which is why a pitcher or faucet-mount filter here tends to underperform. It is not that the filter is bad. There is not enough carbon, and the water moves past it too fast.
At 7–12 grains you still need softening, so the Complete Home System at $3,500 covers both. If taste and shower smell are the main reason you are calling rather than spotting on the fixtures, ask about the dual-tank build — a dedicated carbon tank buys contact time, and contact time is what determines how much chloramine actually comes out.
Because Houston draws on groundwater, we also look at whether you need a pre-sediment stage. If you have seen grit in an aerator or your pressure drops after main work in the neighborhood, that is the tell. It is a cheap add-on that protects an expensive system.
Recent work
Systems available in Houston: Complete Home System, Dual-Tank System, reverse osmosis, pre-sediment and a free water test.
FAQs
Houston water questions.
How hard is the water in Houston, TX?
Supplies serving Houston typically test in the 7–12 grains-per-gallon range. City of Houston water is predominantly surface water and runs chloramine as its residual disinfectant. Hardness is lower than the outlying MUDs but still lands in the hard category, and older neighborhoods like the Heights and Spring Branch add decades of cast-iron and galvanized distribution to the picture.
How much does a water softener cost in Houston?
$3,500 installed for the Complete Home System — softening, carbon filtration and tankless reverse osmosis, with installation, programming, pressure test and lifetime warranty included. The dual-tank build is $4,000. Those are the same numbers in Houston as everywhere else we serve; we do not price by neighborhood.
Why does my Houston water smell like chemicals?
Houston runs chloramine. Chloramine is chlorine bonded with ammonia, so it holds its residual much further into the distribution system and does not air off the way free chlorine does. Carbon removes it, but slowly — which is why a pitcher filter struggles. Whole-home carbon, or a dedicated carbon tank, is what has enough contact time to handle it.
Do you install in Houston the same week?
Usually. We hold install slots for the Houston area every week, and most homes are scheduled within a few business days of the water test.
Who performs the installation?
A TCEQ-licensed water treatment specialist or a licensed plumber, as Texas requires for contracted installations. We do not subcontract to unlicensed labor.
Nearby
We also install around Houston.
Houston, TX
Find out what is actually in your Houston water.
Free in-home test, about 20 minutes at your kitchen sink. You get the numbers written down whether or not you buy anything.