Water Softener in Kensington, MD

What is Kensington's water like?

WSSC Water serves the town from its Potomac and Patuxent filtration plants and lists free residual chlorine as its disinfectant. Hardness isn't one fixed number: it depends on which plant's water is reaching town and shifts during the year. That's why the useful figure comes from a test at your own faucet. If chlorine taste is your real complaint, a carbon filter addresses it; a softener does not.

Can older pipes handle a softener?

Usually, with some prep. Houses in the historic district along Kensington Parkway and the postwar homes around it can have galvanized steel, early copper or a main valve that hasn't been exercised in years. Cutting into corroded steel can start leaks upstream or down, so a plumber may recommend replacing the main valve and a short section of pipe first. WSSC publishes an address-searchable service line material map and offers a Service Line Replacement Program with financial assistance, worth checking if your service line is old. A softener won't remove lead or clear scale already inside old pipes; it only slows new buildup.

Does the Town need to sign off?

Plumbing permits come from WSSC Water Permit Services through its ePermitting system. The Town of Kensington also has its own forms for home construction projects, so if the softener is part of a larger renovation, call Town Hall before work starts. Addresses with a Kensington mailing address but outside the town limits follow Montgomery County's process instead of the Town's.

A local note

Older Kensington houses can have basements with low ceilings, stone walls and limited floor space. Mention that when you call, along with the location of the water heater and the nearest drain, so the plumber can suggest a cabinet-style unit if a two-tank system won't fit. If the water heater is due for replacement, doing both jobs in one visit means a single shutdown of the main and new valves installed once. And if you'd rather keep a drinking tap on unsoftened water, ask the plumber before the install begins whether a cold line can be taken off ahead of the softener for the kitchen sink.