Water softener help for Rochester and Olmsted County

How it works

1. Call or send a request

   Tell us your town, city water or well, and what you are seeing.

2. We pass it along

   Your request goes to an independent water treatment company that serves your address.

3. They take it from there

   The company tests, recommends equipment and quotes the work with you directly.

Who is this for?

Homeowners in Rochester, Byron, Stewartville, Pine Island and the rural townships of Olmsted County who want softer water or need a softener fixed. That includes first-time buyers, people whose softener came with the house and hasn't been touched since, families on private wells who have never tested their water, and anyone who wants a drinking-water tap that isn't softened.

How hard is Rochester water?

Rochester Public Utilities lists its water at 17 grains per gallon, or about 280 parts per million. RPU pumps it from 29 deep wells, 389 to 981 feet down, mostly in the Jordan and Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifers. Groundwater moving slowly through that limestone and sandstone picks up calcium and magnesium, and that's what leaves white crust on fixtures and scale in water heaters. Minnesota health officials say softening may help once hardness passes about 7 grains per gallon, so most Rochester homes are well past the point where a softener makes a difference.

Is your softener set right?

This is the most common, and cheapest, fix in town. A Post Bulletin column quoting the city's Water Reclamation Plant said new softeners often ship set for 30 grains, far more than Rochester water needs, and that an old or poorly tuned unit can go through about 25 bags of salt a year when a well-tuned one needs about five. Over-salting costs you money and sends extra chloride through the treatment plant, which doesn't remove it, to the Zumbro River. A company can test your water, reset the unit, or recommend a high-efficiency model if yours is past saving. More on salt-saving upgrades.

Signs your water is hard or the softener has quit

• White scale on faucets and showerheads
• Spots on glasses and shower doors
• Soap that won't lather
• A rumbling water heater
• Salt that never goes down in the brine tank
• Water running to the drain for hours

City water or a private well?

If you're on RPU, Byron, Stewartville or Pine Island water, your city publishes an annual drinking water report you can check before you call. Private wells are different. Olmsted County says there are more than 36,000 private wells in the region, that testing and maintenance are the homeowner's responsibility, and that southeastern Minnesota's karst geology makes wells here more vulnerable to contaminants such as nitrate. Olmsted County Public Health offers free test kits. Test first, because iron, nitrate or bacteria change what equipment you need. More on well water treatment.

What about drinking water?

RPU recommends keeping a separate, unsoftened supply for cooking and drinking if you use a softener. Many households add a reverse osmosis faucet at the kitchen sink, which also helps well owners worried about nitrate. RO is sized for drinking and cooking, not the whole house. More on reverse osmosis.

Who does the work?

Minnesota requires water conditioning installation and servicing to be done under a state plumbing or water conditioning license, by a company holding a water conditioning contractor license. Ask for the license number and look it up with the Department of Labor and Industry before you sign.

Are you a water treatment company?

No. Rochester Water Softeners is a referral service. We pass your call or request to an independent company that serves your address, and that company tests, quotes and does the work. Read how it works for tips on hiring.

Areas we cover

• Rochester
• Byron
• Stewartville
• Pine Island
• Rural Olmsted County

Before you buy, read the Olmsted County hard water guide.