Schertz lies northeast of San Antonio along I-35, and the city reaches into three counties: Guadalupe, Bexar and Comal. That is a good reason not to assume anything about your water. If you are looking at a water softener in Schertz, start with your own supplier’s figures. This page shows how to read them and what to ask an installer.
Water Filtration San Antonio is an independent referral service, not an installer or plumber. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local water treatment pro who can contact you and quote the work.
Start with your water bill
The supplier named on your bill publishes an annual water quality report. Ask for it, or find it on the supplier’s website, and look for the hardness figure. The 15 to 20 grains per gallon quoted elsewhere on this site is SAWS’s range for water SAWS provides; it is not a Schertz figure unless SAWS is your supplier.
What your figure means
Hardness is given in grains per gallon or in mg/L as calcium carbonate; one grain per gallon is about 17 mg/L. The US Geological Survey calls 0 to 60 mg/L soft, 61 to 120 moderately hard, 121 to 180 hard and over 180 very hard. Hard water leaves soap scum and needs more soap or detergent to get things clean (USGS), and it leaves deposits on dishes, fixtures and basins.
Choosing and sizing a softener
A softener removes the calcium and magnesium that cause hardness. Look for one certified to NSF/ANSI 44, the standard for residential softeners that regenerate with sodium or potassium chloride. Capacity is counted in grains: hardness in grains per gallon multiplied by the gallons your household uses in a day gives the grains the softener must remove each day. Ask the installer to show you that arithmetic with your own figure.
Two points to raise. A salt-based softener adds a little sodium in exchange for the hardness it removes, so anyone on a sodium-restricted diet should ask their doctor and ask about potassium chloride. And water utilities commonly note that some softening systems can increase the corrosivity of the water and damage the anodes in a water heater: ask how the unit will be set.
In Schertz and thinking about a softener? Send the form with your ZIP code.
Request a quoteAlready have a softener?
If your house came with a softener and the spots are coming back, check the simple things first: that there is salt in the brine tank, that the bypass valve is in the service position, and that the control valve kept its settings after any power cut. If that does not fix it, see softener repair for what a repair visit can cover, and softener service for routine upkeep.
Softener, filter or both
Hardness is only one thing a Schertz home might want to change. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s advice on home water treatment starts with the question “What contaminant do you want to remove or reduce?” and then asks you to choose a unit certified by NSF, Underwriter’s Laboratory or the Water Quality Association for it. A softener under NSF/ANSI 44 deals with hardness; a carbon filter under NSF/ANSI 42 deals with aesthetic effects such as chlorine, taste and odor; a drinking water filter under NSF/ANSI 53 deals with health effects such as lead; and a reverse osmosis unit under NSF/ANSI 58 makes drinking water at one tap. A water test and your supplier’s report tell you which of these you need, if any.
License and permit
In Texas, anyone who installs, exchanges, connects, maintains or services water treatment equipment under contract needs a TCEQ Water Treatment Specialist license unless exempt; plumbers licensed under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1301 are exempt. Permits are set by the city. The Limited Service Repair permit described on this site is the City of San Antonio’s, so in Schertz, check the city’s own permit rules and ask the installer which one applies.
Questions for a Schertz quote
- Which hardness figure is the sizing based on, and where did it come from?
- Is the softener certified to NSF/ANSI 44?
- Which Texas license do you hold?
- Which Schertz permit applies, and who files it?
- What does the maker say about salt and maintenance?
Questions people ask
How hard is Schertz water?
This site does not publish a figure for Schertz. Your water bill names your supplier; its annual water quality report gives the hardness.
Is SAWS’s figure right for Schertz?
Only if SAWS supplies your home. SAWS’s 15 to 20 grain range is for water SAWS provides.
Who can install a softener in Schertz?
Under Texas rules, someone with a TCEQ Water Treatment Specialist license, or a Texas licensed plumber, who is exempt from that license.
