# How to choose a water treatment company in Houston Source: https://thehoustonhomeowner.com/trades/water-treatment Publisher: The Houston Homeowner (https://thehoustonhomeowner.com) > In Texas, residential water treatment equipment must be installed by a TCEQ-licensed Water Treatment Specialist, and the plumbing tie-in may also need a licensed plumber, so ask for both license numbers and a water test of your own tap before anyone sells you a system. ## License Texas requires a Water Treatment Specialist license from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to install, exchange, service or repair residential water treatment equipment such as softeners, filters and reverse osmosis systems. The plumbing connections to the house may also fall under TSBPE plumbing rules and need a licensed plumber. Ask who holds each license. Verify at: https://www2.tceq.texas.gov/lic_dpa/index.cfm (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) Permits: Tying a softener or whole-house filter into the main water line is a plumbing alteration, and the City of Houston may require a plumbing permit and inspection. Confirm with the Houston Permitting Center before the work is scheduled. ## Walk away if - They test your water with a dramatic demonstration and then quote a system the same evening. - They cannot produce a TCEQ Water Treatment Specialist license number. - They claim Houston water is dangerous or that chloramine will harm your family without a filter. - The equipment has no brand or model, only the company's own name on it. - The price is only available with their financing, or the discount expires tonight. - They will not say who makes the plumbing connection or whether a permit is pulled. ## Ask before you hire - What is your TCEQ Water Treatment Specialist license number, and who will do the plumbing tie-in? - What did my water test show for hardness, chlorine or chloramine, and iron, and can I have the numbers? - What brand and model are you proposing, what grain capacity, and why that size for my household? - Where will the drain line go, and is a permit needed for the connection? - What does the system cost to maintain per year in salt, filters and service? ## Houston specifics Houston's water is a blend of surface water from the city's reservoirs and groundwater from wells, and the mix changes with the season and the part of town. Hardness is moderate for most addresses, enough to spot glass and shorten a water heater's life, but not the extreme hardness of some Texas cities. That is why a water test at your own tap matters more than any sales chart. The city uses chloramine, not free chlorine, to keep the water safe through the pipes. Chloramine is harmless to drink. It does matter for aquarium owners, for people who want the taste gone, and for anyone buying a carbon filter, because standard carbon does not strip it well. Catalytic carbon does. Ask which one is in the tank. The sales model is the Houston-specific risk. Door-to-door and in-home demonstrations with precipitation tests and glowing drops are designed to alarm you into signing the same night. Slow down. Have a second company test the water, compare brands you can look up, and price the system with and without their financing. Softeners discharge salt brine. If your house is on a septic system, ask about a demand-initiated unit that regenerates only when needed. If the house is on a slab with no drain near the water entry, the drain line routing is a real question. ## Reading a water treatment bid A complete bid includes your water test results with numbers, the equipment brand and model, the softener grain capacity and resin volume or the filter media and volume, the valve type, the bypass, where the system sits and where it drains, who makes the plumbing connection and under which license, whether a permit is included, the annual maintenance cost for salt and filters, and the warranties on the tank, the valve and the labor as separate terms. A bid that lists only the company's own brand name and a monthly payment is a financing offer, not a bid. ## Frequently asked **Do I need a license to install a water softener in Texas?** Yes. Texas requires a TCEQ Water Treatment Specialist license to install residential water treatment equipment. The connection to the home's plumbing may also require a licensed plumber under TSBPE rules. **Is Houston water hard?** Moderately. Houston blends surface water with groundwater, and hardness varies by neighborhood and season. Test your own tap before buying. A company that quotes a softener without a hardness number is guessing at the size. **Does Houston water have chloramine?** Yes. Houston disinfects with chloramine, which is chlorine combined with ammonia. It is safe to drink. It does not come out with a basic carbon filter the way free chlorine does, so a company that promises chloramine removal should name the catalytic carbon media that does it. --- The Houston Homeowner is an independent publication. We do not accept payment for placement, rankings, or reviews, and no home service company owns or sponsors this site.