Softeners for private wells off Germantown's village system
Germantown's village water already comes from wells, six of them, averaged into one 24-grain figure. A private well is not part of that average, and its hardness is its own.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmNot one of the six
The Village's 24 grains is a combined average of its six municipal wells. If your home has its own well, in the Town of Germantown or anywhere off the village system, that average leaves your water out.
The six village wells get averaged together; a private well is measured alone, or not at all until someone tests it.
A private well's hardness is whatever its water measures, which is why a lab report or a tap reading counts for more here than any published figure.
Before you call
Say the house is on a well, how big the household is, and where your main line arrives and whether an existing softener is there. If you have your well's lab report, keep it nearby, since the softener gets sized from it.
Iron sometimes travels with hardness in well water; if it shows up on your report, mention it.
Lab numbers in grains
Divide a milligrams-per-liter figure by 17.1 and it reads in grains, the same unit as the Village's 24. The USGS line for very hard water sits at 180 milligrams per liter, about 10.5 grains.
What the softener is for, and what it is not
What a softener does is swap out the two hardness minerals, calcium and magnesium, for sodium; with potassium chloride in the brine tank, the trade is for potassium instead. Bacteria and nitrate are a different problem from hardness, and a softener isn't designed for either.
For private wells, the Wisconsin DNR recommends a bacteria test no less than once a year, apart from anything a softener needs.
Common questions
Does the Village's 24 grains tell me anything about my well?
Not directly. It describes the Village's six wells. Your well's own test is the number to go by.
I have no lab report. Can I still get a price?
Yes. Say the house has a well and we size from what you describe; the water gets its hardness test ahead of the work, and the tap gets a retest that has to show zero.
Will a softener help with bacteria or nitrate?
No. A softener is built around hardness alone. For bacteria, the DNR's advice is a test at least yearly.