Replace it or reset it: old water softeners in Hartford
Hartford's sewer utility has asked residents to reset their softeners to 20 grains, because softeners can ship from the factory set as high as 30. If yours is past the point where a new setting is the answer, here is how a replacement goes.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmReset it, or replace it?
If your softener still works, the City's request is simple: reset it to 20 grains, per the sewer utility's 2023 chloride guidance. Replacement is for when the unit itself is finished, not just its setting.
The giveaway is the glassware. Hard water shows up as spots and a dull film on glassware and chrome, and inside a water heater it leaves scale. When the spots come back, hardness is getting through.
Old unit out, new softener in
First the old softener is disconnected and taken out. The new one then stands in its spot with the brine tank, the bypass is connected, and the drain line runs down to the drain, leaving an air gap. The kitchen sink gets its RO drinking faucet.
Your faucet is tested before any of that and rechecked afterward until it shows zero hardness. The new unit is demand-initiated, the type the sewer utility's guidance prefers.
On the phone, before anything else
Give us your Hartford address, how many live there, and which part of the house holds the water line and the old softener. We size the replacement from that and name one price during the call.
Have the old unit's surroundings in mind too: basement, utility room or garage, and how near it sits to a drain and a wall outlet.
No one comes out to inspect or to sell first. The Wisconsin-licensed plumbing contractor arrives on install day to do the work.
Common questions
Is resetting my softener to 20 enough?
If the unit works, a reset is what the City's 2023 guidance asks for. The state's February 2026 samples read about 23 to 26 grains at the wells, though, so it pays to know what your faucet actually reads before you settle on a setting.
What happens to my current softener on install day?
It is the plumber's first job: disconnected and carried out before the replacement and its brine tank go in.
Is the RO faucet included with a replacement?
Yes. A Hartford replacement comes with the kitchen drinking faucet like any whole-home softener of ours. The faucet on its own is not for sale.