Deciding whether to spend at all
At 100 to 120 mg/L, roughly 6 to 7 grains per gallon, many households live comfortably without a softener, using a squeegee and rinse aid. Others want spotless glass and less scale in the water heater. Neither choice is wrong. Jorge measures your tap so you decide from a real number.
Also consider what you are protecting. A tankless water heater or espresso machine can justify softening even at moderate hardness, because scale affects performance and service intervals. If you only see spots on the shower door, a squeegee may be the cheaper answer.
Price drivers
- Measured hardness and iron.
- Water use: household size or business volume.
- Valve type: metered regeneration uses salt based on actual use, which suits moderate hardness.
- Installation: drain, outlet, bypass and space, including waterfront garages where equipment should sit above flood-prone floors.
Iron matters too. On Village water, iron is rarely a factor; on a private well it often is, and it changes the equipment and media needed.
Ongoing costs
- Salt or potassium at your use.
- Regeneration water.
- Resin life and service.
A softener set to regenerate on a timer can use more salt than moderate hardness requires. Ask how it will be programmed.
Ask whether the unit can use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride, and how that affects settings and salt use.
Resin usually lasts years; ask what shortens its life.
Businesses
Restaurants, laundries, gyms and offices size softeners by daily volume and the equipment protected. Living Water installs ion-exchange softening plants for businesses; the quote should list capacity, regeneration settings and service.
For a business, two quotes for different capacities are not comparable until the daily gallons and hardness used for sizing match. Ask for both numbers in writing, measured at your building rather than taken from the Village's average.
Questions before you pay
- What hardness did you measure, in what units?
- Why this capacity for my household?
- Would a filter solve my real complaint instead?
See softener costs in Florida.
If your test result comes in at the low end of Tequesta's range and your main complaint is taste or smell, the honest answer may be that a filter is a better use of the money.
Start with a test
Living Water offers financing through its financing partners; you apply with a credit application, and a co-applicant can apply with you. Book a free hardness test: call, text or WhatsApp (305) 793-5974.
Updated 2026-10-17 · Living Waters · Jorge Canela, Water Quality Specialist