Water Softener vs. Filter in Highland Beach

Water Softener vs. Water Filter in Highland Beach

In Highland Beach, a filter usually solves more than a softener. A softener removes hardness minerals, and the town's reverse osmosis plant has already removed most of them. A carbon filter removes chlorine, which is what the town adds for disinfection and what many residents notice. Most homes here choose a chlorine filter, kitchen RO or both, and skip softening.

Two different jobs

	Softener	Filter
Removes	Calcium and magnesium (hardness)	Chlorine, taste, odor, sediment
Highland Beach need	Low; town water already soft	Common; town adds chlorine
Fits condos	Rarely	Kitchen RO and shower filters do

In short, softeners fix scale, filters fix taste and odor. In most Highland Beach homes, the complaint people describe is taste or odor, which points to a filter.

What the town water looks like

The Town of Highland Beach treats Floridan Aquifer water with reverse osmosis, which the town says reduced hardness by about 90 percent. It adds lime back to stabilize the water and chlorine to disinfect it, averaging 1.15 ppm in 2025. That combination points to a filter, not a softener.

The town also says its water lost the yellowish tint it used to have once the RO plant came online. Color, scale and hardness complaints from long-time residents often date from before 2004 and may no longer apply.

Match the complaint to the tool

Chlorine smell in the shower: whole-home carbon filter or shower filter.
Taste of drinking water: under-sink RO.
White spots on glass: test first; often evaporation, not hardness. See water spots.
Equipment scale in a business: may justify softening after a test.

If you have more than one complaint, list them in order of how much they bother you. The top one usually decides the equipment.

Combined systems

Some homes elsewhere need both. Here, a combined system only makes sense if a test at your tap shows hardness high enough to matter. More in water softener vs. water filter: which do you need.

Why softening soft water can backfire

The town adds acid and liquid lime and uses a phosphate corrosion inhibitor because very pure water can be aggressive to pipes. Removing the hardness the town added on purpose works against that design. That is one more reason to test before softening in Highland Beach.

What most households end up with

Condo: kitchen RO, sometimes a shower filter.
House: whole-home carbon filtration for chlorine plus kitchen RO.
Business: depends on equipment specs and a test.

See whole-home filtration and under-sink RO.

Let the test decide

Jorge measures hardness and chlorine at your tap and tells you which tool solves your problem. Call, text or WhatsApp (305) 793-5974.

Sources:
https://www.highlandbeach.us/219/Annual-Water-Quality-Report
https://www.highlandbeach.us/DocumentCenter/View/976/Water-Quality-Report-2025
https://www.highlandbeach.us/222/How-Our-Water-is-Treated

Updated 2026-10-17 · Living Waters · Jorge Canela, Water Quality Specialist

Common questions

Should I buy a softener or a filter in Highland Beach?

Most homes need a filter for chlorine, not a softener, because the town water is already low in hardness.

Will a softener remove chlorine?

No. Softeners exchange minerals; chlorine needs carbon.

Why are there spots if the water is soft?

Any water leaves residue as it evaporates. Test hardness before assuming a softener will help.

Is a combination system worth it here?

Only if testing shows meaningful hardness at your tap.

Which option fits a condo?

Kitchen RO and shower filters. Whole-building equipment is an association decision.

Does a filter remove minerals?

A carbon filter does not. Reverse osmosis does, at the kitchen tap.

Book your free water test.

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