Signs your water needs treatment
Well water problems show up on your fixtures and your laundry long before anyone tests it. If the complaint is the smell, start with why well water smells like sulfur, because the fix depends on where in the system it appears.
- A rotten-egg or metallic smell
- Orange or brown staining in tubs and toilets
- White scale on faucets and appliances
- Cloudy water or visible sediment
- Dry skin and dingy laundry
- Filters clogging far too quickly
Which system your water actually needs
This is where the money gets wasted, because hardness and iron look identical from the kitchen and need completely different equipment. A water test is $0 to $250 and it settles it. Anybody who quotes you a system before testing is selling equipment rather than solving a problem.
White scale and spotty glasses means a softener
Hardness is what shortens water heaters and wears faucet cartridges out. A softener is $1,800 to $3,500, plus roughly $60 to $150 a year in salt. See water softener installation.
Orange staining or rotten eggs means a filter, not a softener
A softener removes a little iron and then fouls on it. Above roughly 3 parts per million you need a dedicated iron and sulfur filter ahead of the softener at $2,200 to $4,500, not instead of it. See whole home filtration installation.
Drinking water only means reverse osmosis
$450 to $1,100 under one sink. It is a polish on top of good whole-home treatment, not a replacement for it, because water at one tap does nothing for your water heater or your laundry. See reverse osmosis installation.
A system that used to work usually needs media, not replacing
Iron filter media is consumable and lasts five to ten years, at $400 to $900 to change. When the staining comes back on a system that was fine, that is nearly always why. See filtration repair and maintenance.
Pick the system and the job you need
- Whole home filtration installation: Sediment, iron, and sulfur, UV
- Whole home filtration repair: Media, cartridges, and backwash faults
- Reverse osmosis installation: Drinking water at the sink
- Reverse osmosis repair: Slow faucet, membranes, and tanks
- Water softener installation: Sized for Shore hardness and iron
- Water softener repair: Salt bridges, resin, and valve heads
Why the Shore has us treat their well water
From large commercial projects to a dripping faucet, the work gets the same treatment: diagnosed correctly, repaired carefully, guaranteed in writing.
Stocked for the Shore
There is no supply house around the corner out here, so we carry more inventory in the shop and on the trucks than most companies our size carry anywhere.
Who actually shows up
A Shoresteady Plumbing technician who has been background checked and drug tested. We provide clear estimates before work begins.
No surprise on the invoice
You approve a written estimate before work begins. If the job needs something we did not see, we stop and talk to you first. Financing through Acorn Finance is available.
Guaranteed in writing
2-year workmanship
Our guarantee on the labor, on every job we do.
Manufacturer warranty
Passed through to you in full on everything we install.
100% satisfaction
If it is not right, we come back and make it right.
Questions We Get Asked About Water Treatment
The well water questions we answer most often.
Do I need a softener or a filter?
They solve different problems. Softeners handle hardness and scale. Filters handle sediment, iron, taste, and smell. On Shore well water it is very often both, in that order, and the test is what tells us.
Will a softener remove iron?
A little, and then it fouls. Iron above about 3 parts per million needs a dedicated iron filter ahead of the softener, not instead of it. Fitting a softener alone on iron-heavy water is the most common expensive mistake we get called in to undo.
What are your hours?
Monday through Sunday, 8:00am to 9:00pm. Requests that come in after 9:00pm get a call back first thing the next morning.
Do you test the water before recommending equipment?
Always. A test is $0 to $250, wells vary street by street out here, and two houses on the same road can need completely different equipment. We test first and quote second.
How much does water treatment cost?
A sediment and carbon filter is $900 to $2,500, a softener $1,800 to $3,500, an iron and sulfur filter $2,200 to $4,500, UV disinfection $700 to $1,500 and reverse osmosis at the sink $450 to $1,100. Full ranges are in our water treatment cost guide.
Explore related services
- Everything we install, repair, replace, and maintain
- Whole home water filtration installation and replacement
- Whole home water filtration repair and maintenance
- Reverse osmosis installation and replacement on the Shore
- Reverse osmosis repair and maintenance on the Shore
- Water softener installation and replacement on the Shore
- Water softener repair and maintenance on the Shore
- Why Your Well Water Smells Like Sulfur and What Actually Fixes It
- What the Shore says about us
- One membership. Every plumbing system in your house, looked after
- Plumbers who actually live on the Eastern Shore
- How Much Does a Water Treatment System Cost on Virginia’s Eastern Shore
- Plumbing services on the Eastern Shore
- Water heater installation, repair, and replacement
- Tankless water heater installation, repair, and replacement
- Plumbing fixture installation, repair, and replacement
- Repiping and whole-home pipe replacement
- Water leak repair on the Eastern Shore
- Drain cleaning and clogged drains
- Sewer line installation, repair, and replacement
- Well pump and pressure tank installation, repair, and replacement
- Sump pump installation, repair, and replacement
- Commercial plumbing on the Eastern Shore
Ready for a steady hand?
Book with our team, or call us seven days a week from 8am to 9pm.
Call (757) 824-9862