Water Softener Installation in Salt Lake City
A softener is the one plumbing upgrade that slows down nearly every other repair on Salt Lake water. Getting it sized to your actual hardness, not a sales brochure, is most of the job.
Start with the number, not the pitch
Salt Lake City Public Utilities publishes hardness every year. In the 2026 report it calculates about 8.0 grains per gallon from the Big Cottonwood plant, 10.2 from Parleys, 12.4 from City Creek, and anywhere from 9.6 to 33.4 from the city's wells and springs. Water bought from the Metropolitan Water District and the Jordan Valley district runs between about 152 and 184 milligrams per litre of total hardness, roughly 9 to 11 grains.
Which of those reaches your tap depends on where you are in the system and the time of year, because more well water is blended in during summer. A home test strip, or a test by the company quoting you, tells you where your house sits. Size for the higher summer figure, not the spring one.
Sizing in plain terms
A softener's capacity is measured in grains it can remove before it has to regenerate. Multiply the people in the house by roughly 75 gallons a day, then by your hardness in grains. A family of four on 12-grain water needs about 3,600 grains of removal a day, so a 32,000-grain unit regenerates roughly once a week, which is about right. Undersized units regenerate too often and waste salt and water. Oversized units cost more up front and can let the resin sit too long between cycles.
Metered, demand-initiated control valves regenerate on actual water use rather than a timer. Ask for one.
What the installation involves
- A loop of pipe at the point where the main enters, so the softener treats the house but not outside taps
- A bypass valve so the softener can be taken offline without shutting off the house
- A drain for the regeneration water, with an air gap, to a floor drain or standpipe
- A power outlet for the control valve
- Often a separate unsoftened line to the kitchen tap for drinking and cooking
- A permit where the work alters the supply piping; ask the company what applies
Where it goes in a Salt Lake house
Most homes here with a basement put the softener next to the main shutoff, where the line comes through the foundation wall. That is usually also near the floor drain, which makes the discharge easy. Slab houses in West Valley City and the newer suburbs often put it in the garage, which means thinking about freezing: a softener and its brine tank in an unheated garage need protection in a January cold snap, or a different spot.
Softener, filter, or conditioner
A softener swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium and is the only one of the three that actually removes hardness. Carbon filters improve taste and chlorine smell but do nothing for scale. Salt-free conditioners change how scale forms and are sold on not needing salt; evidence for how well they work on very hard water is mixed, and you should ask the company quoting one for independent test results. Many Salt Lake households pair a softener with a drinking-water filter at the kitchen sink.
What it generally costs
A whole-house softener properly sized and installed in a typical Salt Lake home generally runs somewhere around $1,500 to $4,000, depending on capacity, the control valve, and how much plumbing the loop needs. Adding a separate unsoftened kitchen line or a filter adds to that. Running costs are salt, a little water at each regeneration, and a resin bed that eventually wears out.
If you already have an old softener, have it checked before replacing it. A failed control valve, an empty brine tank with a salt bridge, or a stuck injector can make a working unit look dead.
Common questions
What size water softener do I need in Salt Lake City?
Multiply the people in the house by about 75 gallons a day and by your hardness in grains. City water ranges from about 8 to 12 grains from the treatment plants and higher from some wells, so many families of four land around a 32,000-grain unit. Test your own water first.
Will a softener fix the spots on my glasses and shower door?
Mostly, yes. Those spots are hardness minerals left behind as water evaporates. Softened water leaves far less behind.
Should the softener feed the outdoor taps?
No. Sprinklers and garden hoses do not need softened water, and it wastes salt. The install should split the outside lines off before the softener.
Is softened water safe to drink?
Softening adds a little sodium. Many households keep one unsoftened tap at the kitchen sink for drinking and cooking, or use potassium chloride instead of salt.
How often do I add salt?
Depends on hardness, household size and the unit, but monthly checks are a good habit. Break up any hard crust in the brine tank; a salt bridge stops the unit regenerating while the tank looks full.
Other plumbing pages for Salt Lake City
- Plumber in Salt Lake City, UT
- Emergency Plumber in Salt Lake City
- Drain Cleaning and Sewer Lines in Salt Lake City
- Water Heater Repair and Replacement in Salt Lake City
- Burst Pipe Repair and Galvanized Repiping in Salt Lake City
Also serving
Water Softeners is available outside Salt Lake City too, across Millcreek , Holladay , South Salt Lake and West Valley City .
Ask about water softeners
Describe the problem and a local plumbing company will call you to talk it through and arrange a visit as soon as their schedule allows. Answered Mon–Sat, 8am–6pm · ask about after-hours cover when you call You can also call (385) 406-3317. If water is running right now, call rather than typing.