Water Softener in Oakton, VA

What happens when you call

The number on this page is a free referral service, not a plumbing company. It connects you with an independent plumber who works in Oakton. The first thing to settle is who bills you for water. The Town of Vienna's water system serves customers outside town limits, and some Oakton homes near Vienna are on it; the rest are on Fairfax Water. The two publish separate reports, and both are worth reading.

After that, the plumber will ask how many people live in the home, where the main enters, and whether there's an existing softener. A tap test sets the hardness number.

Cost factors

• Capacity: hardness times daily household use
• Main line access in a finished basement
• Drain line run and air gap
• Older valves near the main in 1970s and 1980s homes
• Extras: carbon filtration, a drinking water unit
• Removing an old softener

Local conditions in Oakton

Fairfax Water treats water from the Potomac River at the Corbalis plant and the Occoquan Reservoir at the Griffith plant. Its finished-water analyses show 70 to 185 mg/L at Corbalis and 77 to 147 at Griffith, roughly 4 to 11 grains per gallon. The Town of Vienna buys wholesale water from Fairfax Water and the Washington Aqueduct and reports a historical range of 5 to 10 grains per gallon (80 to 170 mg/L).

Fairfax Water normally disinfects with chloramines from July to March and free chlorine from April to June. Vienna uses chloramine most of the year with a short switch to free chlorine during flushing. Neither changes the softener choice much, but chloramine can wear on standard resin, so ask about resin type.

The median home here dates to about 1983. Many have basements with a floor drain near the water heater, which is the easiest spot for a softener.

Before the plumber arrives

• Check whether your bill says Fairfax Water or Town of Vienna
• Clear the area around the main and water heater
• Locate a drain and an outlet nearby
• Note where irrigation or hose lines branch off

Permits for Oakton go through Fairfax County Land Development Services. Gas appliance replacements need a permit there even when like-for-like, and new or relocated plumbing does too.