Softener installation in Mequon homes
In most Mequon houses the main line starts at a private well, not at a city connection. The softener goes wherever that line enters, and a contractor holding the state's plumbing license does the installation from there.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmFinding the spot: where water enters your house
A softener belongs at the point where water comes into the house. That can be a basement, a garage or a utility room, and the spot needs a drain nearby and power for the control valve.
On a well, that entry point is the line from the well. On utility water, it is the service line from the street. Tell us on the call where yours is, and whether an older softener occupies the spot now.
The installation, step by step
If an old softener is there, the plumber unhooks it and carries it out first. Next come the two new tanks, resin and brine, with the bypass valve connected, and the discharge line is run toward a drain and stops above it, leaving an air gap.
Upstairs, the reverse-osmosis faucet goes onto the kitchen sink. It comes with every whole-house softener, so it happens on the same day rather than as a second trip.
Why a licensed plumber, and not us
Chapter 145 of the Wisconsin Statutes treats that drain connection as plumbing, so the person making it has to hold a plumbing license. A contractor with a Wisconsin plumbing license does the installation; we work out the size, provide the equipment and set the date.
The contractor works on your main line, your drain and your kitchen sink, so the person doing that work holds the state license for it.
A test before, and a retest at your tap
The first hardness test happens before any plumbing is touched. In a Mequon well house with no lab report on file, that test may be the first hardness number the house has ever had.
When the softener is up and running, the faucet gets a second test, and a third if needed, until zero is the reading. You see the result with your own eyes.
Common questions
Is the installation different on a well?
Not in its steps. What changes is where the starting number comes from: on a well it is your lab results or the first test on the day, never a utility figure.
There is no basement. Can it go elsewhere?
A utility room or the garage works, provided the main line enters there, with a drain and power close by. Describe the space on the call.
Does the drinking-water faucet cost extra?
No. It is part of the one price, because every whole-house softener includes it.