Test the water, then pick the equipment
Water filtration and softening for Tyler homes and well properties, chosen from a test of what is really in your water and plumbed with a bypass loop and backflow protection on every install.
A softener and a filter are two different tools
People call asking for one when the water actually needs the other, and a fair number of properties need both. The equipment in the photo at the top of this page is exactly that pair, a softener tank and a cartridge housing standing side by side on the same supply line.
The softener
A softener pulls out the hardness minerals that leave scale inside water heaters and crust around faucets. It trades those minerals off inside a resin tank and rinses itself with a salt brine on a schedule set by its control head. What it will not do is stop sand, grit or loose rust. Those pass right through a softener, and over time they can foul the resin bed.
The cartridge filter
A sediment cartridge filter catches particles: sand, grit, flakes of rust from old pipe or from a well casing. It is a physical screen sitting in a housing, and it does nothing at all about hardness. On a well it usually goes ahead of the softener, so the softener only ever sees clean water and the resin lasts the way it should.
Why we start with a test
Buying treatment equipment before anybody tests the water is guesswork. That is how people end up with a system that fixes a problem they never had while the real one keeps staining the tub. A test tells us what is in the water and how much of it, and the equipment follows from the results.
What the results decide
- Whether hardness runs high enough for a softener to earn its keep
- Whether sediment calls for a cartridge filter ahead of everything else
- Whether iron or another problem points to treatment beyond those two
- How big the equipment should be for the way your household uses water
A test also gives you a baseline to come back to. If the water starts tasting different a while after the install, or the faucets start crusting over again, a second test held up against the first shows whether the water itself changed or the equipment needs attention. Without that first result, everyone is back to guessing.
Every so often the test shows the water is fine for whatever you were worried about. When that happens we tell you so, and you skip buying equipment you do not need. Being honest about that is part of why Stephen started this company in the first place. He saw too many plumbers selling people things they did not need, and he wanted a shop that treats customers with respect.
The bypass loop and the backflow device
Every system we put in gets a bypass loop. In that same photo you can see supply lines hand-labeled BYPASS and WELL on the plywood wall. The bypass lets you route water around the equipment for service or after a failure, so the house keeps running water while a softener is down or a cartridge is out of its housing.
Backflow protection is the piece a lot of installs leave off. Stephen holds a Water Protection Specialist certification, which covers backflow prevention and keeping contaminated water out of a clean supply. A treatment system connects your drinking water to equipment that holds brine and trapped sediment, and a brass backflow assembly sits on our installs so nothing inside that equipment can be drawn back into the supply.
It adds a little time to the install. We include it anyway, because a contaminated supply line is a much bigger problem than hard water ever was, and the certification on the wall means something only if it shows up in the work.
Well water at the edges of town, city water closer in
Where your property sits around Tyler changes the question. Homes in town are generally on city water, which has already been treated before it reaches the meter, so filtration there usually comes down to hardness, taste or what the water does to fixtures. Properties out toward the edges of town are more likely to be on a private well, where nobody treats the water except you.
Wells need more attention. Sediment, iron and hardness can vary from one well to the next, even between neighbors, so the test results from the house down the road tell you very little about your own. We test each well by itself and size from what it shows.
From our shop in Kilgore the drive to Tyler is roughly 25 miles, close enough that homeowner calls are part of a normal week for us. For anything that is not urgent, we can often pair your visit with other work on that side of the county.
What living with the system takes
The upkeep is simple, and it is worth knowing before you buy anything.
- Salt goes into the softener brine tank as it runs low, so check it now and then and top it up before it empties
- Sediment cartridges get changed once they load up, which on a well can come sooner than on city water
- The bypass valves let you handle either job without shutting off water to the whole house
- If pressure drops off after a while, a clogged cartridge is the first thing to look at
We walk you through all of it before leaving. Odyssey is a veteran-owned family shop, and Stephen is the licensed Master Plumber who installed your system, so a question later means a phone call to the person who already knows your setup. See more finished work in the gallery of real jobs, read how we handle water filtration wherever we work, or look over all of our Tyler services. Whenever you have a question about your water, send it over and we will chart the job from there.
Other Tyler pages worth a look
Tankless Water Heater Installation
Units sized by how many fixtures run together.
Repiping
Whole house repipes routed to protect old finishes.
Gas Line Repair
Gas leaks traced and repaired, then pressure tested.
Shower Valve Replacement
Cartridge first, the whole valve body only when it is worn.
Water Filtration
Our softening and filtration work beyond Tyler.
Tyler, TX
Everything we take on across the city.
What people ask about their water
Do I need a softener or a filter?
That depends on what is in your water. A softener removes the hardness minerals that cause scale. A sediment filter catches sand, grit and rust particles. Plenty of well properties need both, with the filter first. A water test settles the question before you spend anything on equipment.
Why do you test before recommending anything?
Because guessing leads to the wrong equipment. Hardness, sediment and iron each call for different treatment, and the amounts decide the size. Testing first means the system you buy is aimed at the problem you really have, and sometimes it shows you do not need a system at all.
What is the bypass loop for?
It lets water flow around the treatment equipment. When a softener needs service or a cartridge is out, you turn the bypass valves and the house keeps running water. Without one, any maintenance or failure means shutting off water to the whole property until the work is finished.
Why does a filtration system need backflow protection?
The equipment holds brine and trapped sediment, and it connects directly to your drinking water. A backflow assembly keeps anything inside that equipment from being drawn back into the supply. Stephen is Water Protection Specialist certified, which covers exactly this situation, so we never leave it off an install.
Is well water treated differently from city water?
Usually, yes. City water is treated before it reaches your meter, so home filtration mostly deals with hardness or taste. A private well gets no treatment unless you add it, and wells vary widely, even next door to one another. That is why each well gets its own test.
How much upkeep does a system need?
A softener needs salt added to its brine tank as the level runs low. Sediment cartridges get changed when they clog, which may happen more often on a well. Both jobs are done through the bypass, so the house keeps its water, and we walk you through them at install.
Ask before you buy anything
If somebody has already pitched you a system, call Stephen for a second opinion. He will ask what you are seeing in the water and tell you plainly whether a test is the next step.
Call (903) 570-3051Write down what the water does
Stains, scale, grit in the aerators, an odd smell, or a well that has never been tested. Say whether you are on a well or city water and the visit gets planned around it.
Odyssey Plumbing Co is regulated by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE), 7915 Cameron Rd., Austin, TX 78754, (512) 936-5200, tsbpe.texas.gov. Stephen Crutchfield, Responsible Master Plumber License M-45845.