Water Softener and Filtration Proposal Checklist

In this illustrative example, a homeowner asks for a whole-house filter to fix scale and “remove everything.” The installer has a hardness reading but no contaminant results. A broad purification promise would sell more than the evidence supports.

Start the plumbing proposal with the customer's measurable objective: hardness reduction, taste, sediment or a named contaminant. Record the evidence before selecting equipment.

Establish what the water evidence shows

Identify the supply: public system, private well or another building-operated source. For public water, collect current utility information and any notices. A system report provides context; it is not a current sample from the customer's kitchen tap.

For property testing, record the sample point, date, treatment or bypass state, method, result and units. Retain the complete laboratory report, including reporting limits and qualifiers. Distinguish a field hardness screen from a laboratory analysis of health-related contaminants.

CDC's filter-selection guidance explains that appearance, taste and smell do not establish safety. Choose treatment for the substances of concern. For private wells, use appropriate certified-laboratory testing and local public-health advice; a hardness test cannot establish potability.

Put the test basis in the plumbing inspection report. If pump flow or pressure affects design, obtain the mechanical evidence described in the well-pump service report guide.

Match the exact model to the exact claim

“NSF certified” needs an object: which model, which standard and which reduction claim?

NSF's standards overview distinguishes these common applications:

A standard number does not establish every possible reduction. Verify the exact model and configuration in the certifier's official directory, such as NSF's treatment-unit listings. Save the dated listing, performance sheet, replacement-component numbers and operating limits.

PFAS claims deserve particular care. EPA's filter guidance warns that certification criteria described as of April 2024 did not establish reduction to EPA's drinking-water standards. Check the current model-specific claim and endpoint; avoid promising regulatory compliance from a certification mark alone.

Use adaptable proposal wording such as: “Model [identifier], certified by [body] for [specific reduction], selected using sample [ID/date/result], subject to the attached feed-water and maintenance conditions.” Complete the blanks with verified information.

Size for demand as well as capacity

A softener needs measured hardness, treated-water use, peak flow, pressure, feed-water conditions and usable capacity at the intended salt setting. The biggest grain-capacity number on a cabinet is insufficient.

For illustration, 200 treated gallons a day × 12 grains per gallon × 7 days gives 16,800 grains of hardness load between regenerations. That calculation does not select a unit: reserve, usable capacity, service flow, efficiency and manufacturer limits still matter.

EPA's softener guidance addresses water and salt efficiency and explains that WaterSense does not label water softeners. Compare documented performance without inventing a WaterSense certification.

For filters, check service flow, pressure loss, rated capacity and replacement triggers. For reverse osmosis, add production conditions, storage delivery, reject-water drainage and consumable costs. Have the supplier substantiate model-specific figures used in the quote.

Draw the treatment and installation boundary

Identify every treated and bypassed branch: drinking tap, refrigerator, heater, bathrooms, laundry, irrigation and any process equipment. A marked photograph or piping sketch often explains more than “whole house.”

Whole-building removal of disinfectant can allow more germs to grow in plumbing, as the CDC guidance explains. Consider that consequence when selecting the treatment boundary.

Use the scope attachment for piping, isolation, backflow protection, approved drain and air-gap arrangements, power, service access, leak protection and restoration. Verify local discharge and onsite-wastewater requirements. Coordinate heater work through the separate water-heater replacement checklist.

If lab results, drain approval or available flow change the design, document the revised claim, equipment and price in a change order. Use the written change-approval process before performing added work.

Price maintenance and prove the commissioned result

List salt, cartridges, media, membranes, lamps or chemicals as applicable, with part numbers and replacement intervals or triggers. Define customer tasks and any purchased service visits. Follow the actual product instructions rather than promising lifetime performance.

Record startup, settings, leak and drain checks, sample points and incoming/treated results in the service report. CDC's well-treatment guidance calls for testing after treatment to verify effectiveness before use when harmful germs or chemicals are involved. Assign that verification and interim-water communication before installation. Record manuals, maintenance training and open items in the completion sign-off.

The FTC's advertising guidance requires support for objective claims, including water-filter health or safety claims. Keep sales language consistent with the measured objective and documented performance.