Water Softener in Riverdale, MD

Telltale signs

• Shower glass that clouds over a week after cleaning
• Faucet screens full of white grains
• Kettle and coffee maker scale that builds up fast
• A tank heater that sounds like it is boiling gravel
• An installed softener that leaves water slick but scale still forming

Riverdale's water and homes

The Riverdale mailing area takes in the Town of Riverdale Park, an older streetcar-suburb town just south of College Park along US 1, plus nearby unincorporated neighborhoods such as Riverdale Heights. The median home in Riverdale Park was built in 1957, so plenty of houses have older supply piping and valves at the main.

WSSC Water supplies the area. Its tap analysis lists Potomac plant water averaging 140 mg/L, with a range of 62 to 199, and Patuxent plant water averaging 64 mg/L, with a range of 51 to 198. In grains, that is about 8 versus just under 4. The plant serving a given address varies, which is why one household finds a softener essential and the family down the block doesn't. WSSC disinfects with chlorine rather than chloramine, and a softener leaves chlorine untouched.

WSSC's What's Your Pipe Type? program helps customers identify service line material. If you are planning softener work near the main, it is a sensible moment to check what your line is made of. If the record shows galvanized pipe or an unknown material, ask the plumber to look at the line where it enters the house before connecting new equipment to it.

What it costs depends on

• Your hardness reading and household size
• Pipe condition at the main in a 1950s house
• Basement layout and distance to a drain with an air gap
• Whether you add a carbon filter for taste
• Removing and disposing of an older unit

When you call

You'll be connected with an independent plumber who works in Riverdale. Mention your reading if you have one, the age of the house and water heater, and where the main enters. Most plumbing in WSSC territory must be done by a plumber registered with WSSC under a WSSC permit, and the plumber can confirm whether your install needs one.