Hayes Plumbing repairs and installs water softeners in Ajax, whether you live in Westney Heights, Nottingham, Discovery Bay or Pickering Village. Our licensed plumbers drive in from our Oshawa shop at 448 Ritson Rd. South, usually 20 to 30 minutes away. For water softener repair in Ajax, the plumber finds out why the unit stopped softening and tells you the repair price, in writing, before touching it. If you are choosing a new water softener system in Ajax, we start with a water test and install the unit with the bypass and drain connections it needs.
Quick checks before you book a repair
Some softener problems have simple causes that you can rule out yourself in a few minutes:
- Lift the lid of the brine tank. If the salt is low, top it up. If it looks full but the level hasn't dropped in weeks, a hard crust may be sitting above the water.
- Find the bypass valve on the pipes next to the softener and make sure it is set to send water through the unit, not around it.
- After a power failure, look at the clock or display on the control valve. Some models need the time reset so they regenerate overnight as planned.
- Follow the drain hose from the control valve and make sure it isn't kinked or crushed.
When the checks don't fix it
If the water is still hard after those checks, or water is pooling in the salt tank, leaking around the unit or running to the drain without stopping, the cause is usually inside the softener: the control valve, the injector that draws brine from the salt tank, or the resin itself. The plumber compares the softened water with the water coming into the house and watches the unit through its cycle to see which stage is failing. If a repair would cost more than the softener is worth, the plumber tells you so, and you get both prices to compare.
What's in Ajax tap water
Ajax drinks Lake Ontario water treated at the Region of Durham's Ajax Water Supply Plant. The Region's 2025 annual report says the Ajax Drinking Water System supplies the Town of Ajax and the City of Pickering from an intake pipe that reaches about 2.5 kilometres into the lake. The Region lists this supply at 125 mg/L as calcium carbonate in its hardness figures. It also says that installing a softener or filtration system is a personal preference and is not required with the water it supplies.
Sodium is worth knowing about too. The same report shows sodium in the Ajax system's treated water ranging from 16.7 to 20.9 mg/L across 11 samples in 2025, with two results above 20 mg/L, the threshold for reporting to the Medical Officer of Health under Ontario's drinking water regulation. Health Canada says that for people on strict sodium-reduced diets, sodium in drinking water should be below 20 mg/L, and it recommends a separate unsoftened supply for cooking and drinking wherever a sodium-based softener is used. Leaving one cold tap unsoftened, usually at the kitchen sink, is the simplest way to do that, and it is easiest to plan before the softener goes in.
Water softener installation in Ajax
A new softener starts with a hardness test and a look at how much water your household uses, because the capacity has to suit both. Then you choose a size, a regeneration method and either salt or potassium chloride as the regenerant. A licensed plumber connects the unit to the main water line through a bypass valve, hooks up the drain and brine lines, sets the controls and walks you through adding salt.
Our 2026 Oshawa plumbing cost guide lists whole-house water filtration systems at $1,000 to $3,000. Softeners are not listed separately: the price depends on the capacity you need, and we confirm it in writing after testing your water. Quotes for new systems are free.
Plumbing permits in Ajax come from the Town's Building Services: you apply through the Online Application Portal or by email to buildingpermits@ajax.ca, and book inspections on 905-619-2529, giving at least 24 hours' notice. Whether your installation needs a permit depends on the plumbing involved, so check with the Town before work begins.
If a softener salesperson comes to the door
Water softeners are a restricted product under Ontario consumer law, and the Region has its own warning:
- Ontario does not allow water softeners or water treatment devices to be sold door to door. A business can only sign a contract for one in your home if you contacted it first and invited it over for that purpose, with some exceptions, such as when you already have a contract with that business.
- If you called a company for a repair, it may leave information about new equipment, but it cannot sign you to a new contract on that visit.
- A contract you do sign at home comes with a 10-day cooling-off period, starting the day you receive a written copy of the agreement.
- The Region of Durham asks residents to call 905-668-7711 ext. 3488 if a salesperson at the door claims to be partnered with the Region. Ontario also points out that municipalities and government agencies don't send salespeople door to door.