Then there is the Puget Sound winter. Sheltered compared with the Narrows bluff, but the December 2022 and January 2024 freezes still split hose bibs and garage water heater lines in the older homes. Winter rain overloads the oldest cast iron and clay drains. From our shop in Port Orchard, Fircrest is about 35 minutes from Port Orchard, over the Narrows Bridge and a few minutes down Highway 16 to the Orchard Street exit; we schedule it alongside nearby stops so windows stay tight.
Why water treatment & filtration systems is a little different in Fircrest
For Fircrest homeowners who want the last step for drinking water, we pair the whole-house system with an under-sink reverse osmosis unit at the kitchen. The whole-house filter protects the RO membrane, and the RO handles nitrates, arsenic and dissolved solids that point-of-entry systems are not built for.
What is behind the drywall in Fircrest matters more than most people expect. Platted in the 1920s as a planned garden suburb around the golf course, so the oldest streets have 1920s and 30s Tudor and Colonial homes with basements, cast iron and galvanized. Most of the rest filled in between 1945 and 1970 with brick ramblers and split-levels on copper and cast iron. Very little new construction; the plumbing is old and the houses are well kept.
Local conditions that affect water treatment & filtration systems in Fircrest
Local conditions shape the work. In Fircrest: Cast iron drains in the brick ramblers channeling after sixty years
Pump houses and well sheds around Fircrest get cold enough in a hard freeze to split a filter housing, and we replaced several after the December 2022 and January 2024 cold snaps. When we install in an unheated space we insulate every line and talk about a heat source for the building.
In Fircrest specifically, one issue comes up more than most: Clay side sewers with roots from the big street trees on Regents and Alameda
Older Fircrest homes on city water often have their own galvanized service line shedding rust into otherwise clean water. A sediment filter helps, but the real fix is replacing the line, and we tell you that rather than selling a filter to treat a problem the pipe is causing.
Signs Fircrest homeowners call us for water treatment & filtration systems
Worth a call
- White scale on fixtures, shower glass and the inside of the kettle
- A tankless water heater that needs descaling every year
- Blue-green stains on fixtures, a sign of low pH eating copper
- A lab report showing nitrates, arsenic or bacteria in a well
- Cloudy water after rain or after the utility flushes hydrants
How we handle water treatment & filtration systems in Fircrest
Here is how it runs when we come to Fircrest for water treatment & filtration systems: test the raw water, size to the house, not the catalog, flat price with the options explained, install with bypass, drain and insulation, then start up, flush and set the schedule. Nothing is started until you have approved a flat price.
Read the full step-by-step for water treatment & filtration systems →
Fircrest neighborhoods and areas we serve
We have worked in Mildred Street and the University Place line, in Orchard Street border with Tacoma and most of the Fircrest neighborhoods in between, including the homes out by Thelma Gilmur Park and Fircrest Golf Club.
Water Treatment & Filtration Systems questions from Fircrest
What does iron filtration cost for a Fircrest home?
A whole-house iron system is typically a four-figure project depending on the iron level and the flow the house needs. A sediment or carbon cartridge system is considerably less. You get a flat price after the test, before any work.
Will a filter fix the rotten-egg smell in my Fircrest water?
If the smell is in the cold water, yes, with an oxidizing or aeration system. If it is only in the hot water, the fix is usually the water heater's anode rod and no filter is needed. We check which before quoting.
Do you service filtration systems you did not install in Fircrest?
Yes. We change cartridges, replace media, repair control heads and, when a system was oversized or wrongly chosen, resize or replace it. We will tell you plainly if what you have is the wrong tool for your water.
Is a whole-house filter enough for drinking water in Fircrest?
For taste, smell and clarity, yes. For dissolved contaminants flagged by a lab report, an under-sink reverse osmosis system at the kitchen is the right addition, and we install both together in Fircrest homes.
My water smells like rotten eggs. What fixes that?
If the smell is in both hot and cold water, it is hydrogen sulfide in the well and needs an oxidizing filter or aeration. If it is only in the hot water, it is bacteria reacting with the water heater's anode rod, and changing the anode usually fixes it with no filter at all. We check which you have before quoting.
Washington Plumbing & Drain serves Fircrest from our base in Port Orchard, a reasonable drive over Highway 16. We schedule Pierce County work in clusters so arrival windows stay honest.