Water Softener Installation
Inland Empire water is hard, and hardness is behind a great deal of what we replace: scaled heaters, crusted fixtures, valves that stop sealing. Softening treats the cause rather than the consequences.
When to call
What usually brings people to this
Galvanized supply closes up the same way it always has, showing itself as brown water and pressure that drops the moment somebody else opens a tap.
These are the symptoms that usually prompt the call. Any one of them is worth a conversation, and most of them get cheaper to deal with the earlier they are looked at.
Scale on fixtures and shower glass
Soap that will not lather
A water heater that failed early
Spotting on dishes and glassware
Skin and laundry complaints
Once water has been somewhere it should not be for a while, you are paying for drying and repair as well as plumbing.
How we work it
Diagnosis first, always. Digging before you know where the problem is how a small repair becomes a large one.
Test hardness and iron
The numbers size the system and set the regeneration schedule.
Size for the household
Undersized softeners regenerate constantly and use more salt than they need to.
Install with a drain and bypass
Correct drain routing and a bypass for servicing are part of doing it properly.
Set it up and explain it
Regeneration schedule, salt, and what to actually expect.
Worth knowingWhat water softener installation actually involves
Pricing a job properly means an actual assessment, not a number given over the phone by someone who has not seen the problem.
It is worth being specific about why this matters here rather than treating it as an upsell. Hard water deposits scale on every surface it heats. Inside a water heater that means a growing insulating layer between the burner and the water, which costs energy continuously and shortens the tank's life. Inside valves and cartridges it means surfaces that no longer seal. The scale you can see on a shower door is a visible sample of what is happening everywhere else in the system.
Our equipment is chosen around not having to guess, because guessing is what produces unnecessary work and surprised customers.
We go where the work is, across San Bernardino, Riverside and eastern Los Angeles counties. If you are outside the usual radius, call and ask. We cover more ground than most shops our size.
Diagnosis first, always. Digging before you know where the problem is how a small repair becomes a large one.
Keeping it from happening again
Once water has been somewhere it should not be for a while, you are paying for drying and repair as well as plumbing.
Wipes should not go down any drain, whether the packet says flushable or not. They do not break down, and they are behind a large share of the main line blockages we clear.
Watch your water bill. A bill that climbs without a change in habits is often the only warning a hidden leak will give you before the damage shows.
Water heaters benefit from an annual flush in this region more than almost anywhere else, because our water leaves sediment on the bottom of the tank where the heat has to pass through it.
Check the pressure at a hose bib occasionally. Above about eighty psi you are shortening the life of every fixture, valve and appliance in the building, and a regulator is a cheap fix.
Who you are calling
Booking is simple and the quote is free, so there is no cost to finding out what you are dealing with.
Big Mike started with a truck and a phone number in 1982. The phone number has not changed and neither has the standard he set, because the people running it now learned the trade from him.
Licensed for plumbing and for sanitation systems, and as a general engineering contractor, which between them cover everything we are asked to do here.
The phone is answered by a person at any hour, so a problem at midnight gets the same answer it would get at noon.
Big Mike's · Yucaipa, California
Questions we get about water softener installation
If yours is not here, call and ask. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Is our water really that hard?
Yes. The Inland Empire runs hard, and it is the main reason water heaters here fail earlier than their warranty suggests.
Will softened water feel different?
Yes, noticeably. Soap lathers properly and rinses differently. Most people prefer it quickly.
How much salt does it use?
Depends on hardness and household size. Correct sizing keeps it reasonable.
Will it protect my water heater?
It is the single most effective thing you can do for heater life in this region.
How long have you been in business?
Since 1982. Big Mike founded the company and handed it to his family, who run it now. That is forty-four years in the same valley under the same name.
How do I know it is an emergency?
If it is actively causing damage or has made the property unusable, treat it as one and call. Water through a ceiling, sewage backing up and any gas smell all qualify.
What should I do before you arrive?
Know where your main water shutoff is and whether it turns. Clear access to the work area. If you smell gas, leave the building and call from outside.
Do you guarantee your work?
We stand behind what we do. If something we repaired is not right, call us and we will come back and deal with it.
How this fits the rest of the system
Water pressure is worth understanding because too much of it quietly destroys a house. Above about eighty psi, fixtures wear faster, appliance valves fail early and pipe joints take stress they were not designed for. A great many homes in this region run higher than they should because the supply pressure in the street is high and nobody has ever checked the regulator.
Before we come out
Before we arrive it helps to know where your main water shutoff is and whether it turns. Clearing access to the work area and putting pets somewhere else speeds things up considerably too.
Covering three counties means the drive is sometimes long, but it also means we have seen how plumbing behaves across a lot of different ground and water.
Related work and where we do it
Other work we do in homes
- Sewer Line Replacement
Full lateral replacement when repair is past the point.
- Leak Detection
Finding the leak before anything is opened.
- Repiping
Replacing failing supply piping through a house.
- Kitchen Plumbing
Sinks, disposals, supply and drain work.
- Boiler Repair
Residential boiler and hydronic faults.
- Hydro Jetting
High-pressure scouring of greased and rooted lines.
Where we go
We run water softener installation out of Yucaipa across West Covina, San Dimas, Cathedral City, Upland, Canyon Lake, Eastvale and Chino Hills, and the rest of San Bernardino, Riverside and the eastern edge of Los Angeles County.
Call the shop. A person picks up.
Tell us what it is doing and we will tell you what it takes to fix it. Plain language, no sales pitch, and the number before we start.
Yucaipa, California · Serving San Bernardino, Riverside and eastern Los Angeles counties · Open 24 hours