Hard water leaves scale on fixtures, shortens the life of water heaters and appliances and makes soap work poorly. A properly sized softener fixes all three.
A water softener removes the calcium and magnesium that make water hard by exchanging them for sodium or potassium ions. The result is water that lathers properly, leaves no chalky scale on faucets and showerheads, and protects water heaters, dishwashers and washing machines. Hayes Plumbing tests your water, sizes the softener for your household and installs it, with financing and rentals available as part of our water treatment service.
“Hayes Plumbing installed a new water treatment system at our rural property in Uxbridge. They were knowledgeable about well water issues and the installation was flawless. Great team.”
We measure the hardness and check for iron so the softener is sized for your water, not a guess.
Capacity, regeneration type and salt or potassium, with the price in writing.
Licensed plumbers install the softener with a bypass, a drain connection and a brine line to code.
We program the unit and show you how to keep the salt topped up. Repairs and service are available when needed.
Call to book a visit or a free in-home estimate.
Licensed plumbers, WSIB certified, BBB accredited and members of the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce.
Free in-home estimates and the price in writing before any work starts.
Founded in Oshawa by Brian Hayes in 1961, with seven fully stocked service vehicles across Durham Region.
A real person answers emergency calls around the clock and dispatches from Oshawa.
Our 2026 Oshawa plumbing cost guide has no separate softener line; its water filtration row is $300 to $800 for under-sink systems and $1,000 to $3,000 for whole-house systems. Softeners are priced by capacity after we test your water. Operating costs are mainly salt, which our water treatment guide puts at roughly $50 to $100 per year. We test your water first and confirm the price in writing.
We are your plumber in Oshawa, and we dispatch from our shop at 448 Ritson Rd. South to:
Common questions about water softeners in Oshawa and Durham Region.
Softened water does not usually taste salty, but it does contain added sodium, and Health Canada recommends a separate unsoftened supply for cooking and drinking where a softener is used. Potassium chloride can replace salt, but Health Canada says people with kidney disease, heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, or on medications that affect how the body handles potassium, should avoid water softened with it.
Much of the region has water hard enough to leave scale and shorten appliance life, and it shows up as spotting and poor lathering. A water test tells you for certain.
They do different jobs. A softener removes hardness; a filter removes chlorine, sediment and other contaminants. Many homes benefit from a softener for the whole house plus a reverse osmosis system for drinking water.
Yes. Hayes Plumbing makes financing and rental of water treatment products available to clients.
It depends on the water source. In Durham Region, the Region of Durham reports hardness of 125 mg/L (about 7 grains per gallon) for the Lake Ontario system that serves Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Brooklin, Oshawa, Bowmanville and Newcastle, 186 mg/L in Uxbridge and 274 mg/L in Port Perry. Health Canada considers water above 200 mg/L poor. Private wells vary, so we test your water before sizing a softener.
If you are comparing a water softener vs water filter for your Durham Region home, you are asking the right question — but they solve very different problems. A water softener removes hardness minerals like calcium and magnesium that cause scale buildup. A water filter removes contaminants like chlorine, sediment, lead, and bacteria that affect
Many homes in Durham region are still living with hard water. Most of these don’t know how easy and affordable a water softener is—or the benefits your family can get from water softeners. Soft water has a number of health, lifestyle and home benefits that can make your family’s quality of life better all around.
You may not often think about it, but the difference between hard and soft water in your home can really affect your daily life. Soft water helps you avoid build-ups of scale in your pipes,…
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