Germantown water softener installation, measured against a six-well average
Germantown's 24-grain figure is an average of six wells, so an installation here begins with the one number that belongs to your house: a hardness test at your own tap before the plumber connects anything.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmTesting comes before the toolbox
Before any pipe is touched, your water is tested. The Village's average tells us what to expect; the tap test shows the plumber what your house actually has.
The Village's 24 is a combined figure from 2018; your tap's reading is today's water at your address. If it comes in above or below 24, that is the average doing what averages do, not an error.
When the work is done, the same tap is tested again, and that retest has to show zero hardness.
The install-day steps in a Germantown house
First, whatever softener is there now comes out, unhooked by the plumber. Then the new softener goes in near the main water line with its brine tank alongside, the bypass is plumbed in, and then the drain line is run so it empties into a drain across an air gap.
With the drain done, the reverse-osmosis faucet is fitted at the kitchen sink, and then comes the retest.
A spot near the main line
Softeners belong right where the main water line reaches the inside of the house, with a drain and an outlet a short reach away. In a Germantown house that might mean the basement, the utility room or the garage.
On the call, say where your main line arrives and whether an existing softener is there. It is one of only a few things we ask.
Licensed, because Wisconsin calls it plumbing
At the spot where the drain line from the softener empties into a drain, across that air gap, Wisconsin law sees plumbing: Wis. Stat. ch. 145. So a plumbing contractor with a Wisconsin license carries out each installation, and we size the system, supply it and set the date.
What you see when the plumber leaves
A softener and its brine tank by the main line, a drain line ending at its air gap, a reverse-osmosis faucet at the kitchen sink, and a retest at the tap showing zero hardness.
Common questions
Why test the water if the Village already publishes 24 grains?
Because 24 is an average across six wells, sampled in 2018. A test at your tap is a reading of the water you actually get.
Does the reverse-osmosis faucet go in on the same visit?
Yes. The kitchen sink gets it once the softener and brine tank are in place.
Who comes on install day?
A plumbing contractor with a Wisconsin license. Nobody comes beforehand to sell; the price was settled on the phone.
What does the plumber need near the softener spot?
The main water line, a drain to receive the softener's discharge across its air gap, and an outlet. Those three decide where it goes.