Lake water in Menomonee Falls: is a softener worth it?
If your Menomonee Falls address gets the Lake Michigan supply, your water runs 7 to 9 grains per gallon, roughly a quarter of what the village wells carry. Whether softening it is worth doing is a reasonable thing to ask, and only your household can answer it.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmWhere the lake range lands on the USGS scale
On the USGS scale, the lake range sits around the line where moderately hard turns into hard. That makes it hard water, but a long way short of very hard, which starts past 180 milligrams per liter.
The village wells are another matter: at 27 to 32 grains they are very hard by any reading. If you are not certain which side of the village you are on, settle that first.
What hard water leaves behind
The hardness in question is dissolved calcium and magnesium. It is behind the spots and filmy residue on glasses and fixtures, and behind the scale that builds up inside a water heater.
Lake water carries less of it than the wells do, so how much any of that matters is a call each household makes for itself. Some people notice the spotting and want softened water; others live with 7 to 9 grains and never think about it.
Why a lake-side household might soften anyway
Preference is the main reason. A household that wants softened water at every tap gets it the same way a well-side house does: a whole-house softener set from the reading at its own tap, then retested until that tap reads zero.
The drinking-water faucet is the other. The kitchen's reverse-osmosis drinking tap is not available by itself; it comes bundled with a whole-house softener, so wanting the tap means taking the softener too.
Living with lake water as it comes
If spotting does not bother you and you have no use for the drinking tap, 7 to 9 grains is a reasonable water to live with unsoftened. Choosing that is not a mistake.
Tell the call where you stand. You get the facts for your supply and one price, and whether to go ahead is your decision alone.
Make sure you really are on lake water
Everything above assumes the lake supply. Ask the Village utility with your street address, and if you go ahead, the plumber's first test at the faucet confirms it before the softener is set.
Common questions
Is 7 to 9 grains hard water?
Yes. On the USGS scale it straddles the line between moderately hard and hard. It is not very hard, a label reserved for water above 180 milligrams per liter, roughly 10.5 grains.
Could I have just the drinking-water faucet?
No. It is included with a whole-house softener and never sold on its own, whichever supply you are on.
Will the call push me to soften lake water?
No. You hear what your supply carries and one price, nobody shows up at the house to sell, and the choice stays with you.
More for Menomonee Falls homes
- Water softener installation in Menomonee Falls, WI
- Water softener replacement in Menomonee Falls, WI
- Well water softeners in Menomonee Falls, WI
- Menomonee Falls, WI water hardness
- Guides to Menomonee Falls water
- Who is behind Menomonee Falls Water Softener Co.
- Water softener quotes in Menomonee Falls, WI
- Menomonee Falls: lake water or village wells?
- Moving to Menomonee Falls: what to ask about a house's water
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