Start with the homes. The oldest incorporated town in Washington, so the historic district has homes from the 1850s to the 1900s that have been repiped more than once, with a large share of 1950s to 70s ramblers and split-levels on the hill and around Steilacoom Lake, and 1990s and 2000s homes near Chambers Bay. Cast iron, galvanized and early copper are all common. At about 50 minutes from Port Orchard, over the Narrows Bridge, through University Place and down to the waterfront from Port Orchard, Steilacoom is a regular line on our schedule, not a special trip.
Why water treatment & filtration systems is a little different in Steilacoom
Many Steilacoom homes rely on private wells drilled into glacial sand and gravel, and that groundwater carries iron, manganese and often hydrogen sulfide. A backwashing iron filter sized to the well's flow ends the orange stains and the smell, and a sediment filter ahead of it keeps grit from a shallow well out of the house.
Then there is what is under the yard. A steep bluff of glacial drift dropping to Puget Sound, with the historic town on the slope and the beach, Chambers Creek Canyon to the north, and the flat prairie behind. Bluff lots have long, steep drain runs and groundwater seeps in the slope.
Local conditions that affect water treatment & filtration systems in Steilacoom
Ask a Steilacoom homeowner what goes wrong with plumbing here and you will usually hear a version of this: Scale on water heaters from the district's well water
Low-pH well water in parts of Pierce County slowly dissolves copper pipe, and the blue-green stains in Steilacoom sinks are the giveaway. A neutralizer tank at the entry protects the plumbing, and if the copper is already pinholing we talk about a repipe in PEX at the same time.
Here is a Steilacoom detail that changes how we approach the job: Steep side sewers on the bluff with offsets, roots and no cleanouts
Families in Steilacoom with a tankless water heater see the benefit of filtration quickly: less scale on the heat exchanger, longer intervals between descalings, and a cleaner inlet screen. A scale inhibitor or softener ahead of the unit is often the single best thing you can do for its lifespan on moderately hard well water.
Signs Steilacoom homeowners call us for water treatment & filtration systems
Worth a call
- Sand or grit in aerators, showerheads and the toilet tank
- Water tastes or smells like chlorine, especially in summer
- 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
How we handle water treatment & filtration systems in Steilacoom
Here is how it runs when we come to Steilacoom 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 →
Steilacoom neighborhoods and areas we serve
From Pioneer Orchard and Union Avenue to Steilacoom Lake shore, with plenty of stops around Steilacoom ferry to Anderson and Ketron islands and Bair Bistro and the historic downtown, Steilacoom is well-worn ground for our trucks.
Water Treatment & Filtration Systems questions from Steilacoom
Is a whole-house filter enough for drinking water in Steilacoom?
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 Steilacoom homes.
Do you test the water before recommending a filter in Steilacoom?
Always. We test iron, manganese, hardness, pH and sulfur on site from the raw water and send lab samples for bacteria, nitrates or arsenic when a Pierce County well calls for it. The system we quote comes from those numbers.
Can you install a filter in my Steilacoom pump house?
Yes, and we do it often. The system goes after the pressure tank with a bypass and isolation valves, a drain for any backwashing tank, and insulated lines so it survives a freeze.
What does iron filtration cost for a Steilacoom 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 whole-house filter lower my water pressure?
A properly sized one should not noticeably. The pressure complaints we see come from undersized cartridge housings and clogged cartridges that were never changed. We size to the home's peak flow, use large-port housings, and install a bypass so a clogged filter never leaves you without water.
We bring the same equipment to Steilacoom that we use at home in Kitsap: sectional and drum machines, a push camera with a monitor, our own hydro jetting truck, and a van stocked for the common repairs.